The Vader Chronicles
by jedinemo
Summary: Tales in the life of Darth Vader.This mostly Vader perspective story follows his life from the end of ROTS through the end of ROTJ. NEW ! Chapter 20 now up.
1. The Aftermath

**Chapter 1 : Aftermath **

Darth Vader lay motionless on the medical table. Above him, a hovering medical droid removed the previous day's dressings, each piece pulling off dead tissue from the live flesh underneath. If Vader felt the bandages tear at his burned skin, he gave no sign. Too badly burned to yet be submerged in a bacta tank, the daily routine of bandage changes was his new reality.

A week ago, he had told Jedi Master Mace Windu that Chancellor Palpatine was the hidden Sith Lord that the Jedi Council had been seeking. He still had everything then- his wife Padme', his unborn child, his friend Obi-wan, and his strong, healthy body. Now, it was all taken from him. Yoda had advised him not to fear the loss of loved ones, but Vader had not imagined he could lose this much. So great was his fear of losing Padme' that he had not forseen even a glimmer of what was to come. For all his prescient visions of the future of others, his own destiny had been completely clouded to him.

How could he have failed to save both the women he loved so much ? His failure to save his mother had been more innocent- he had not yet known the veracity of his visions. But Padme' - he had tried with all of his power, pushed aside any other goal or thought or feeling of his conscience, to save her. The thought of his failure took the will to live right out of him. The midi-chlorians that permeated his cells would not let his body die, though, and so he lay passively, riding the tide of destiny.

At first he thought that Palpatine was wrong. Padme' couldn't be dead; there was no reason for her to be dead. He knew without a doubt that she was alive on that landing pad on Mustafar, as he began to battle Obi-wan. His mind could always find hers. He remembered that pivotal day when from the Council Room of the Jedi Temple he reached out to her in her distant apartment , and felt her returning his gaze across the city. The intensity of their connection overwhelmed him, driving his fateful choice to save Palpatine and his Sith knowledge from destruction by Windu.

Yet here he lay, alone. Every probe of his mind to find her returned without an answer. Nothing. Not even the faintest echo. He had tried a hundred times to feel her presence, and could no longer bring himself to try again.

And so it went on, the daily routine to heal his body that went on without involvement from himself. He could see his torso and the stumps of his limbs, the skin hard and crackled, oozing serum from ruptured blisters. Black eschars of dead skin peeled up at the edges, but remained firmly attached in the center. The medics cut back these eschars, stopping only when the blade hit live tissue. The droids gave no expression as they tended his wounds, but he knew he must be a horror to behold. It was if the whole physical being of Anakin Skywalker had been peeled away so that he could be rebuilt as Darth Vader.

This day's dressing changes were now complete. The droids began placing the black life-support suit on his body; it was too painful to dress himself. When the mask and helmet sealed in place, he swung his legs off the table to walk back to his room. The droids would have transported him, of course, but this, at least, he could do for himself. Despite the agony of leather and armor against his body, he willed himself to walk.

He walked awkwardly, but that did not surprise him. He knew from his experience with his prosthetic right arm that there was an adaptation process. It took time for the brain to process the electronic neural feedback as effectively as it had handled the biological information. His usage of his prosthetic right arm was now as swift and sure as before the injury. He was sure that the clumsy delay he felt in sensing and advancing his legs would resolve as well. At least the distance between the treatment room and his room was short.

Inside his room a droid orderly helped him to remove the life-support suit, and redressed him in thin cloth. The medics had cautioned against wearing the armored suit against his traumatized skin, but Palpatine had demanded proof of the suit's ability to sustain him. The suit's ventilator was necessary for nomal activity. He could breathe on his own, but his lungs and chest wall had lost the elasticity necessary to draw in adequate volume. Without the ventilator, he felt weak and out of breath. Within Vader's room Palpatine had installed a hyperbaric chamber, which forced enough oxygen to his lungs and tissues that he felt comfortable. In that chamber, he could remove the suit, and give his tissues a chance to heal.

Vader had just seated himself within the chamber when there a signal at the door to his room. It would only be Palpatine ; he had no other visitors. "Enter, my Master," he intoned, opening the door with a wave of a finger.

Palpatine strode into the room, then seated himself opposite Vader in the hyberbaric chamber. A flicker across the wizened face of the Emperor told Vader his appearance wasdisturbing.

" The medics tell me your wounds are healing well, Lord Vader," the Emperor said with encouragement. " They say they may have you in a bacta tank within a week or two."

To an observer, Palpatine's words might have rung of friendliness and compassion. In truth, none of these soft emotions troubled his mind. Well trained in both Jedi and Sith arts, Palpatine's greatest Force talent lay in knowing what others wanted. He could look inside them to their very soul, and see what quest drove them on. With that knowledge, he dangled their dearest prize just out of their reach, enjoying most his ability to manipulate them. This ability had helped him rise within the structure of the Republic, and eventually seize control of it. Now as Emperor, what excited him most was not the control of planets, or trade routes, or vast fortunes, but the thought of uncountable legions of souls bound to obey his bidding. He was the Force embodied, he liked to think, and the Galactic Empire simply the physical proof of his abilities.

But as Palpatine studied Vader's face , he was troubled by the deep melancholy he sensed within him. Palpatine could feel no quest within the young man; it was as if he had given up. While this reaction might be natural, Palpatine knew he must stop Vader from dwelling in this low place. Vader must be made to feel hate, rage, or even fear, something to awaken the power of the Dark Side. Palpatine had worked ever so carefully to engineer the fall of the Jedi's Chosen One, and he was not about to lose him to simple human emotion.

"Your strength is to be admired. Not many could have survived as you did," Palpatine continued, altering his tactics slightly. "When you are fully healed, you will be an unstoppable force, my young apprentice. I have many important tasks awaiting you."

" Yes, Master. I am grateful for all you have done for me," Vader replied. The words were appropriate, but the tone, hollow.

Palpatine smiled politely and rose to leave. He would figure out a way to invigorate this prize of the Galaxy to its former strength; to do otherwise would be a senseless waste. His attention was required elsewhere by the fledgling Empire, however, and Vader would have to survive on his own for now.

Darth Vader grimaced as he began the process of removing his life support suit by first unfastening the durasteel shin guards . Bending over stretched the skin on his back, where he had sustained the deepest burns. While not as exquisitely painful as the fresh burns had been, this stage of healing left his skin feeling tight and restrictive. He no longer had to endure the accursed dressing changes, but they had been replaced by similarly painful massages designed to free the adhesions of scar from the underlying tissue. The medics were optimistic that continued bacta treatments would restore much of the lost flexibility.

Each day he learned to function better within the black armored suit. He improved the coordination of his mechanical arms through simple, repetitive motions : clenching and unclenching his fists, furling and unfurling his fingers,flexion and circling of his wrists. Over and over he practiced, until organic thought met electronic circuitry with flawless precision. The helmet was not such a simple adjustment. It limited his peripheral vision tremendously, and until he found he could alter the external microphone sensitivity, it relayed every last syncro whine on the whole rehab floor at irritating volume. The digital readout that projected on the lenses held useful information, but more often than not he found it to be a distraction.

His lungs constituted his biggest challenge. He had learned how to synchronize with his ventilator, how to speed up its rate with physical exertion, how to stop it momentarily to create silence. The ventilator had limited usefulness, though, even set to maximum speed. At a certain point his scarred lungs would exchange only so much oxygen and carbon dioxide, no matter how much oxygen the suit delivered to him. His heart, on the other hand, was mightily efficient now that it delivered blood only to a central core, and was not burdened by pumping to distant extremities. He acknowledged his limitations, but promised himself he would learn to compensate. He would hone his dexterity and coordination, he would refine his Force sensitivity, and he would push his body enough that he would never display any sign of weakness.

That no one would ever know the terrible damage concealed by the suit was foremost in his vow to appear invincible. To that end he had worked to be able to dress and undress himself without aid, not even from a droid. Sealing the helmet and mask correctly was difficult, but by using the Force he could accomplish it. He continued removing the suit within the safety of the hyperbaric chamber and prepared for sleep.

_Poised on a mechanized platform hovering above a river of lava, Anakin faced Obi-wan, former friend and mentor, now revealed enemy. Obi-wan shouted at him from the safety of the rocky shoreline, " It's over Anakin. I have the high ground."  
Over, Anakin thought. I don't think so. The leap would not be that far, especially since he felt the Force running so strongly through him. He had tasted the Dark Side, and the sensation of it amazed him. The Jedi had steered him from the Dark Side only because they knew how powerful it would make him. His rage at and hatred of Obi-wan made the Force pulse through his muscles. One leap, and he would be on the shore to finish off Obi-wan._

This time Darth Vader awoke before Obi-wan's light-saber slashed through three of his limbs, leaving him crippled on the rocks. Sometimes he had to endure not only that memory, but the lecture that came after, and sometimes even the unbelievable pain of the lava lighting his body on fire. Awake, he could control his mind, and focus forward. But in sleep his mind betrayed him, and brought forth the events of his former life. It always took him awhile to regain his mental equilibrium after one of these dreams.

He was thankful there was no one to see his inner turmoil. The Emperor had been gone many days, leaving him alone in this medical rehabilitation center.At least he assumed he was alone; he had never seen anything but droids here while undergoing treatment. Not that there were many beings left that he knew. Order 66 had been highly successful in decimating the Jedi Order. Obi-wan might still be alive, maybe others, but no matter. He was not one of them anymore.

Now the only person on his side, the only being who appreciated his talent, was the Emperor. Even before his transformation, the Emperor probably understood him best, not his Jedi mentors. Only one path lay before him; he would be right hand to the Emperor. It was a fitting role for the Chosen One.

He gave himself comfort by reasoning that the Jedi prophecy must still hold true. The Jedi had simply interpreted it to suit their needs. Afterall, they had very nearly rejected training him, even though he fit all the qualifications of the prophecy, even though his midi-chlorian count surpassed all known Jedi. That he was destined for greatness, that he would play a key role in the Galaxy, of that he was certain, and he held that truth close around him like a cloak.

Already he had helped Palpatine to consolidate power in one man, making it simpler to keep peace and order in the Galaxy. Was that not a noble achievement, was that not something of which Padme' would be proud ? Her name rolling through his mind stung him fiercely, and he put away her memory, unable to bear looking at it. He would do this for her, though, build a tranquil and harmonious Empire. He would learn all he could from Palpatine, all the Sith teachings hidden from him by the Jedi. He would not limit his actions and emotions as the Jedi had taught him . Passion was not wrong; the Dark Side was not wrong. He would use them all, feel the full power of the Force. There would be a reason why he had suffered such tremendous loss, and he would not shirk from his destiny.


	2. Return of the Sith

**Chapter 2 : Return of the Sith **

If he closed his eyes, Darth Vader almost felt whole again. Sucked down in the cockpit of a high performance speeder, piloting by a blend of physical perception and Force sensitivity so harmonious that it felt as if the speeder controls were hardwired to his brain, it could have been any other day on Coruscant. But then, because it was Coruscant, he had to open his eyes, the Force alone being insufficient guidance to negotiate its flyways, which could be like traversing an asteroid field, the actions of some pilots being as random as flying chunks of ice and stone. With his eyes open it was impossible to deny that he was encased in a life support suit, the continual reminder of the devastation in his life.

Still, for a moment, he could ignore the past, and immerse himself in the sensation of flying. Long ago he had decided that flying planetside was better than flying in space. Space, with its remarkable beauty and deafening silence, allowed speeds far greater than what could be achieved within an atmosphere. Appreciation of speed, though, required gravity and context. Planetside, g-forces gave literal impression of the acceleration rate and the hardness of a turn. The eyes judged speed by the closeness and passing of objects, whereas such reference was absent in space. He missed the feeling of the wind on his face, but flying the speeder soothed his soul all the same.

As he merged the M31 speeder into an express lane, he reflected on the ease of his escape from the rehab center.With his recent life consisting only of medical treatments and physical therapy, the days had run together, but he thought it had been several weeks since his catastrophic injuries on Mustafar. The medical droids offered him little information about the outside world, and Palpatine had been conspicuously absent. Never able to sit still for long, and lacking orders from Palpatine, he took matters into his own hands. He had anticipated resistance from the medical droids, or the appearance of the Imperial security force, but neither materialized. The counteroffensive he had rehearsed went untested when, in an anticlimactic moment, he simply walked out. An unmarked door led to a plain corridor, to an elevator that descended only two floors, and exited to a windowed hallway. As he made his way down, it occured to him that he didn't even know what planet he was on, having only vague memories of leaving Mustafar. The window near the elevator showed him the unmistakable total urban landscape that was Coruscant.

The elevator hallway had no obvious exit. If only he had his lightsaber, he could create a passage, be it through the wall or the top of the elevator. He noticed an indented panel at the end of the hallway opposite the window. It lacked a wall control to indicate it was a door, but it was the only non uniform surface in the hall. The panel did not move when he tested it with his hands, but he felt a tingle of the Force, and so he motioned two fingers. The panel slid up, revealing a hangar bay. This certainly was the way Palpatine had been entering; this door only yielded to the Force.

He walked out into the hangar bay, which was remarkably empty for its capacity . Only three vehicles resided in the hangar : A _theta_ class shuttle, a ship that looked like aJedi shuttle, except the emblems were gone, and in the far corner, an M31 speeder. The M31 was not a standard model, not that one would ever call such a high performance luxospeeder "standard".This one wasnot the factory "fire-red", but rather a deeper scarlet that matched the armor of the Emperor's own guards. He doubted if M31s came off the assembly line with side mounted blasters, either. The empty seat in the cockpit called to him, and as he slid behind the yoke, he felt more like himself than he had in a long time. He pushed the ignition, reveling in the glorious sound of its engines echoing through the hangar. He closed the hatch, strapped himself in, and eased the M31 airborne. A touch of the throttle, and he cleared the open hangar doors, and rejoined the world of the living.

At expressway speeds, it did not take long to come up on the governmental hub of buildings. He could navigate this stretch of Coruscant without thinking, so often had he traversed these flyways. He opened up the throttle, just to see what the M31 would do, banking right and left to avoid slower craft. Not the most polite flying, but he didn't endanger anyone. For the first time in his life, no master, be it Watto or the Jedi, or now Palpatine, directed his next move. He could go anywhere, but he had nowhere to go. His new life had no structure, and it disquieted him. A lightsaber on his belt would boost his confidence in greeting the unknown, because Jedi or Sith, what was a warrior without his weapon ? A destination finally in mind, he flipped a vertical "U" and turned back to the government core.

Rising broad and square above the city floor, the architecture of the Jedi Temple was unlike anything else on Coruscant. The five spires that rose from the body of the building did nothing to make it blend in to the cityscape. As Vader made his approach, even at a distance he could see that the Temple appeared deserted. No traffic pattern of vehicles swirled above its landing pads ; in fact the traffic lanes avoided it altogther. The fire damage had gone unrepaired, its signature spires still blackened. As he flew closer the lack of pedestrian traffic on the walkways became apparent. Squatters had not even taken up residence on its empty terraces.

For a thousand generations the Jedi had been a constant presence in the Galaxy, but now they were no more than a memory. In himself, they had built a foundation as massive as the building before him, filling his mind with precepts and viewpoints that he had accepted without question. Yet all had crumbled within the span of a day, due in no small part to his own actions. Had he really killed all those younglings ? He swallowed hard and pushed back the memory. It was a necessary thing, he repeated to himself. It had to be done, and at least he had done it quickly, so that they did not suffer.

He halted the speeder near the main entrance, seeing no need to use the official landing pads. No guards of any sort appeared to stop his entrance into the building. He entered his old pass code at the door to the interior core ; it admitted him as if nothing had ever happened. Inside, the great hallways were silent and dark, the life drawn out of them. The bodies of the fallen Jedi had been removed, but no other action had been taken to erase the evidence of combat from the interior.

As he walked down the broad corridors, the familarity of the building comforted him, despite the carnage that he had wrought within its walls. The elevators still powered up, and he found himself riding to the top of the spire containing the Jedi Council chambers. He entered the room where he had been judged so many times, from boyhood to manhood.

The windows were darkened by sooty residues, the chairs of the High Council covered in a similar layer of ash and dust. Clone trooper footprints disturbed the ash layer on the floor, evidence of the search that had taken place after the Temple had fallen. Standing in the center of the room, as he had first done nearly 15 years ago, his mind filled with snippets of the discussions that had shaped his life. So often the Jedi had seemed bent on pushing him down, when all he had ever wanted from the Council was recognition of his talents and accomplishments. The flood of memories gave him the uneasy feeling that he was not alone; he calmed himself by reaching out with the Force to confirm that the building was empty. Empty or not, it was time to address the task that had brought him here.

Midlevel in the center core building of the temple complex was the hall dedicated to lightsaber studies. Laboratories for use in construction of lightsabers were here, as well as gymnasiums for lightsaber drills and the practice of combat skills. He ticked off a list in his head of everything he would need to build a new lightsaber. Handles, grips, power cells, superconductors, lens assemblies, even Ilum crystals would be found here. Tradition told that a Jedi, especially a Padawan, was to go on a quest to find a crystal in the wild when constructing a lightsaber, but he knew a reserve of crystals was maintained in the lab.

He remembered the first lightsaber he had constructed. Other Padawans struggled to assemble theirs and focus the crystals, but not him. His mechanical aptitude shown through, and he welcomed its construction as a break from history and philosophy classes. The most recent lightsaber he had built was especially well balanced and rugged, and should have lasted him 20 years, had not Obi-wan perversely taken it at Mustafar.

He quickly gathered the parts he needed, as well as a few tools. It would have been easier to build the saber in the lab, but the feeling of unease had followed him from the Council chambers. His discomfort was augmented by a creeping claustrophobia stemming from the armored suit. He had never worn the suit this long continuously, and certainly not at this exertion level. Not thinking ahead, he had neglected to load any packets of the liquid meals designed to work within the suit. It gave him a glimpse of how truly vulnerable he was physically, despite the strength the Force gave him. Unable to unmask outside of the oxygen enriched and pressurized hyperbaric chamber, he was tied to the chamber until he developed a better long term tolerance of the suit. He exited the Temple at a faster clip than he had entered.

The M31 sat outside, waiting for his return. As he fired it up, he couldn't help but think this whole excursion had gone rather smoothly. Palpatine never did anything without good reason, but Vader still found it odd that the Temple was simply abandoned. He took off from the plaza and joined the traffic lane heading back towards the rehab center. He decided against taking an extended route back, the thrill of flying having been overridden by a growing desire to get out of the armored suit. It began to dawn on him that the ease of his escape was only because Palpatine knew he would be forced to return to the rehab center within a short period. With chagrin, he realized the M31 was probably purchased specifically for his use.

He flew away from the governmental core towards the rehab center. As he neared the center, he adjusted his altitude to meet the height of the rehab center landing pads, far taller than most any other building on Coruscant. His proximity to the center tripped a security field, and a warning came crisply over the speeder comlink. "You have entered restricted airspace of the Emperor Palpatine Surgical Reconstruction Center. Reduce speed and identify yourself."

He flipped a switch to broadcast back, "This is Darth Vader, returning to.." Before he finished his statement a light flickered in the corner of the instrument panel, and he could see a set of hangar doors opening. Apparently , at least here, his name carried some weight.

"Vehicle identity confirmed. Please proceed, Lord Vader," came the voice over the comlink.

Inside the hangar he parked the M31 near its original spot. The lack of guards no longer surprised him, as the idea was growing that the Emperor had arranged for everything to fall into place for him. The Force responsive door opened to him, and he retraced his path back to the rehab center. His droid nurse had apparently not been privy to the expectation that he would escape, and she flew after him, chattering admonitions all the way. He stopped her midflight with a telekinetic stab that rocked her backwards. The droid took the hint and returned to the nurses' station.

The last steps to his room seemed to take forever. Once inside, he went straight to the hyperbaric chamber. He wanted to rip the helmet off of his head, but its construction prevented him from doing so, and he had to carefully unlock the seal instead. He envied the ease with which the clone troopers were able to slip their helmets on and off. When the cooled air of the chamber finally touched his face, he closed his eyes in relief. The suit's temperature control system had performed well, but it was no substitute for the feeling of air directly on his skin.

He had come a long way in the last few weeks, but one afternoon's expedition had left him exhausted. His weakness made him uneasy; he wanted to be self-sufficient again.The only answer was to push himself harder, and as he spread the lightsaber components in front of him, he vowed that when his new lightsaber was finished, he would be combat ready.


	3. The Debut

**Chapter 3 : The Debut **

The Emperor Palpatine watched the Surgical Reconstruction Center named for himself grow larger in the window of his shuttle. It felt good to be back on Coruscant, or Imperial Center, as it was now called. One should never underestimate the power of a name, he had found. The less a people had to hold onto from the past, the more willing they were to go into an uncertain future.

He had been away longer than he had wanted, but there had been that messy business on Ghorman to get handled. He was pleased with the performance of his Imperial officer, Willhuf Tarkin, in the matter, so pleased he had promoted him to the rank of Moff, with command of the Seswenna Sector. Pity he didn't have any Force talent; Tarkin's way of thinking ran parallel with the Emperor's. Maybe a little rough around the edges as far as diplomacy went, but one couldn't argue with his results. Now it was the Empire's turn to wait for his attention; the Emperor needed to return to the struggling apprentice he had left behind.

The shuttle landed in the rehab center hangar bay that was reserved for the Emperor's use. He had found that the only true way to keep a secret was to limit access; security measures simply delayed, but did not stop, the spread of information. As he descended the landing ramp, he noticed the M31 was in a slightly different position. He layed a hand on the sleek curve of the cockpit glass; Vader had been here. He felt the inner glow that came to him when he predicted another's action; he knew the speeder would be irresistable to Vader if he made it this far. Perhaps his apprentice was not so struggling afterall.

As Palpatine approached the Force controlled door, he sensed Vader in the hallway on the other side. Through the door, Palpatine could hear a lightsaber humming in the rhythmic pattern of the classic drills. Then, abruptly, the saber was sheathed, and the hallway fell silent, save for the unmistakable sound of Vader's ventilator. Palpatine motioned the door up, and indeed, found himself facing a fully armored Darth Vader.

Palpatine's first reaction was that perhaps he had reconstructed Vader too well, but then he smirked at his own discomfort. This was the effect he had been seeking, an imposing figure that would instill fear in the Imperial citizenry. Unease was replaced by thrill as Palpatine thought of the challenge of commanding Vader. Always he had sought the strongest Force talents to be his apprentices, both to boost his own power and for the excitement of directing a dangerous being. While some men might fly the fastest speeder, or visit the most hostile planet, or hunt the fiercest prey, Palpatine found pleasure in controlling those who could be his most formidable opponents.

Palpatine's thoughts turned to his past apprentices. Count Dooku had been quite composed and still Jedi-like, but a challenge to read, and a worthy intellectual opponent. Really too passionless to make a good Sith, though, and in the end, far too unsuspecting. Darth Maul, now that had been a tragic loss to the Jedi. Very powerful, both physically and with the Force, so coolly lethal, so passionately hateful of the Jedi, Maul would have had a long and useful career, had not Kenobi cut him down in his prime. Obi-wan Kenobi -- now there was a real irritant. Not particularly gifted in the Force, not prescient or strongly telekinetic, he nonetheless had accomplished great harm. He was the second tier student, who through hard work and application beat out the naturally gifted top tier students. He had killed that great weapon, Darth Maul, and nearly killed the newly minted Darth Vader.

No matter, Palpatine thought, Vader lives. Maul had been so perfect an apprentice because his physical appearance inspired such fear in his opponents. Judging by his own reaction to Vader, the Emperor knew this new Sith Lord would be of similar use. With his two meter height and the impenetrable mask, Vader was an unfathomable mystery in black. The sound of the ventilator left one unsure whether they were facing man or machine. Indeed, Darth Vader would be supremely valuable in keeping the new Empire in line.

"I see you have made great progress in my absence, Lord Vader," Palpatine began. "Where did you get the lightsaber ?"

"I constructed it from parts I retrieved from the Jedi Temple," Vader replied. "It has been a long time since I have been without a weapon."

"Remind me to get you a synth crystal so that you can power your lightsaber appropriately. We wouldn't want anyone thinking you were Jedi, now would we ?" Palpatine chastised. " I trust you found your life support suit satisfactory ?"

"I'm becoming more accustomed to it every day, my Master," Vader said. "But, as you know, I do need to return to the hyperbaric chamber periodically."

"Yes, I suppose you do," the Emperor replied thoughtfully. "That would make it difficult for you to go very far from here, now wouldn't it ?"

"It left me unsure whether I am a patient or a prisioner," Vader said, with an edge to his voice. Palpatine might not appreciate his tone, but he needed to know where he stood in the Emperor's New Order. From Palpatine, Vader had wanted the power to stop death, but Palpatine had never been clear about what he wanted in return.

"Oh, my young apprentice, you are no prisioner," Palpatine replied using his purring politician voice. "I only wanted you to have sufficient time to heal. I envision great responsibilities for you, after I have given you more training, of course."

"Am I to assist you with the Senate, then ?" inquired Vader .

"That would be a waste of a great warrior, now wouldn't it," the Emperor laughed. "You were made for action, not diplomacy, Lord Vader.You will help me with the military, and the peace-keeping troops. I cannot be all places at once, so you will be my representative out among the star systems. The troops and the peoples should never forget they have an Emperor. You appear ready to assume your duties. Tomorrow you will accompany me to the Imperial Senate, and the galaxy will be introduced to Darth Vader."

-----

The wind rustled through Darth Vader's cloak as he stood on the rehab center landing pad, waiting for the Emperor's shuttle. He had not been outside of the rehab center in two months, save for his solo journey to the Jedi Temple. The galaxy was a different place now, Empire instead of Republic, and minus the Jedi Order. The Senate must be in a bit of an uproar adjusting to all the changes. As a Jedi, he always received respect, and often admiration ; he wondered if today's reaction from the Senate would be the same.

When the shuttle landed, the ramp descended, but no one came from within the ship to greet him. He headed up the ramp, passing the two red cloaked Imperial Guards standing at the entry. The passenger compartment of the shuttle was dimly lit, but at the rear he could see three figures seated in apparent discussion. He recognized the horned head of Mas Amedda, his expression no less stern than when he was guiding a Senate session, as well as the pale apparition that was Sly Moore, seated near Palpatine. He had never before heard Sly Moore speak, but the low female voice he heard must belong to her.

Discussion stopped as he grew closer. In the silence, he became aware of how loud a noise his ventilator made. The Emperor sensed the awkwardness of the moment, and moved to break the tension."Lord Vader, let me introduce you to the Vice Chairman of the Senate, Mas Amedda, and my political aide, Sly Moore." Both figures had met Anakin Skywalker, but the Emperor was determined to start things anew. "As I was explaining," Palpatine continued, "Lord Vader will act as a special military aide to my office."

Unsure of what to say, Vader nodded in acknowledgement. Sly Moore stared at him for a moment, then looked to the Emperor. "Please, speak freely," Palpatine encouraged. "Lord Vader will be involved with this project, so there is no need to keep secrets in this matter."

Sly Moore glanced once more at Vader, her distrust of him not abated by her master's words. Like all of Palpatine's subordinates, though, she submitted to his requests, and so resumed speaking." Can we be certain that the fact that construction has already begun on the Great Weapon be kept from the Senate ? They will be much less likely to support the project if they are aware it has been started independent of them. "

"The framework is all that has been accomplished," the Emperor replied," and that is in a remote location. I forsee no possibility that information will be leaked to them prematurely. I have complete confidence in the commander overseeing the project."

Vader remained silent, having nothing to offer to this conversation. The galaxy had moved on without him as he recovered from his injuries. Palpatine obviously parceled out information as he saw fit, leaving no one person educated in all matters. While he might see his place as the Emperor's right hand, the resentment Vader sensed coming from Sly Moore told him she, too, thought of herself as that privileged second.

------

The Emperor's entourage made its way down the plush carpeted foyer of the Imperial Senate, the height of its ceilings and massiveness of its columns dwarfing all who entered. On this most cosmopolitan of worlds, beings quickly became inured to the sights and sounds of others quite unlike themselves. But always among the many who faded into the background were those few beings that produced discomfort in others by their mere presence. Darth Vader was to be one of those. He noted the Doppler effect of emotions in onlookers, their fear growing loudly with his proximity, and receeding into relief as he passed them without incident.

Like the Jedi Temple, the hallways of the Senate comforted him with their familiarity. He paused for a moment at the outer rim of the great auditorium, having never been permitted farther. A scarlet Imperial Guard hurried him back to rejoin the entourage, all of whom were disappearing into an elevator that would take them to the Emperor's lower level holding office. From this office, the Emperor's podium rose through the floor of the Senate to its formal position within the center of the auditorium.

The view from the podium was nothing short of astounding. More than a thousand saucers, with the representatives from the same number of worlds, surrounded the podium both far above it and far below it. The din of thousands of voices in many different languages filled the auditorium. He realized some of the conversations might be about him, a new mysterious figure standing between the expected faces of Mas Amedda and Sly Moore. It was crowded in the podium, but he had found a neutral spot to stand that did not provoke a snarl from either Amedda or Moore. Palpatine rose to speak, and Amedda silenced the auditorium by calling the session to order.

This was the microcosm in which Padme' had thrived, the institution she had fought for so passionately. He remembered stories she had told him of her Senatorial life, her excitement uncontained. If she were still alive, she would be here now; there was no way she could be kept from this process. He scanned the saucers all around the room, looking for the person he knew was not there. Vader couldn't help but to reach out, to try to sense her presence. Though he could not find her through the Force, he couldn't shake the feeling that some essence of her remained here. So deep in thought was he about Padme', he didn't even hear the Emperor's speech, until the sound of his own name brought him back to the present.

"Darth Vader", the Emperor pronounced, "has fought for the survival of the Senate. He scoured the Jedi Temple of the treasonous Jedi, and saw to the end of the Separatist leaders to ensure the safety and stability of the Empire. Under my orders, he will travel the galaxy as my representative to maintain peace and order throughout its worlds. As a Lord of the Sith, he is also our communication with the Force, now that the Jedi are gone. He is a guardian of the Empire."

The auditorium erupted in applause, rising to a standing ovation. Inside his helmet, Vader was stunned. This was the Palpatine he had known before Mustafar, the one who believed in him and encouraged him. He had been concerned that he would be introduced as a mere aide, another shadowy figure at the Emperor's side, but Palpatine had painted him in heroic terms. This he could do, be a guardian of the Empire. He raised his arms to accept their applause.

------

Giving Darth Vader a hero's welcome had made the Senators no more comfortable with him than before the session. The milling throngs of Senators and staff still gave him wide berth as the great auditorium emptied into the foyer. He strode ahead of the Emperor's party, feeling embarrassed by walking within the protection of the Imperial Guards. As the swarms of senatorial staff crisscrossed in front of him, he noticed one face constant in the crowd, stationary, alternately hidden and revealed by the stream of moving beings exiting the Senate. The figure was unyielding, even when he approached within a few feet. As he stood in front of Senator Bail Organa, Organa looked him square in the helmet with an intensity that gave Vader the unnerving sensation that Bail could see right through the lenses of his mask.

"Senator Organa," Palpatine's voice interrupted from behind, "Did you wish to give Lord Vader a personal word of congratulations ?"

"Actually, your excellency, I came to speak with you directly," Organa said, his tone quiet, but determined.

"If you hadn't noticed, Senator, this session is over. You will have opportunity to speak again in the next session," Palpatine said coolly.

"I couldn't take the chance that you would not recognize me in the official session. You should know that the facts of the Ghorman Massacre have been spread throughout the Senate. We will not allow the deaths of dozens of peaceful demonstrators to go unpunished. I am telling you man to man that we will not allow this misuse of power," Organa stated.

"The event on Ghorman was unfortunate, but common sense should have told those people to move out from under a descending Star Destroyer. I don't know who comprises the 'we' to which you keep referring, but I will tell you, Emperor to Senator, that you are treading on dangerous ground. And, man to man, I would hate to have to tell you the fate of the last man who threatened me." Palpatine's voice had taken on that hard edge that portended violence. "Good day, Senator."

"We know you ordered that ship to land," Organa proclaimed, as the Emperor's party turned away from him. He watched the black form of Darth Vader recede with the group, and played his final card, shouting, "Anakin !".

Vader turned halfway around before he caught himself. He knew there was no more Anakin Skywalker, no place for him to exist in this Galaxy, but the habits of a lifetime are hard to break. Bail had been a good friend, and he wanted to answer, but there was no point. He turned away from Bail, and continued on with the Emperor's group.

Palpatine heard Organa's call also, and noted Vader's unconscious response. Most unfortunate, that encounter, he thought. He didn't want anyone or anything pulling Vader back into his old persona. He needed to get him off Coruscant, and away from familiar settings. The time had come to build the reputation of Darth Vader.


	4. Beginnings

**Chapter 4 : Beginnings **

Moff Willhuff Tarkin watched the Emperor's shuttle rise into the forward docking bay of his mile long, wedge shaped Star Destroyer. Tarkin was really quite pleased with the design of his Star Destroyer, bigger and more powerful than anything else in the Imperial Fleet. He dreamt of still greater things, though, of a battle station the size of a small moon, so powerful that its mere existence would keep Imperial subjects subdued with fear. And so the Emperor was here today, to evaluate his work in developing that station.

The Emperor's _theta_ class shuttle sat between rows of white armored stormtroopers and grey uniformed Imperial officers. Even here, on an Imperial ship, the Emperor was accompanied by his scarlet armored Imperial Guards, who walked at four corners surrounding the Emperor. Following the Emperor was an impressively tall masked and helmeted figure, all in black, that Tarkin had never seen before.

The Emperor greeted Tarkin warmly. "Always good to see you, Moff Tarkin. Let me introduce you to my new aide, Darth Vader, who will be of great benefit in our mutual goal of maintaining order in the galaxy."

The two men nodded at each other from either side of the Emperor. "It's an honor to have you on board, Emperor. I'm sure you will be pleased by our progress, " Tarkin said.

"Moff Tarkin, those fighter ships in the corner of the hangar are of unusual design. Where were they built ?" Vader asked.

"You have an eye for spacecraft. They are prototypes we are testing of a new design put forth by a friend of mine, Raith Sienar. If they perform well you might soon find them throughout the Imperial Fleet, with the Emperor's approval, of course, " Tarkin explained.

"That's a matter for another time," the Emperor said. " Let's proceed to the bridge to discuss your project, Moff Tarkin."

"After you, of course," replied Tarkin, with the slightest of bows.

------

Throughout the command bridge, heads swiveled at the sound of the elevator doors opening. Conversational voices ceased as the line staff saw not only their commanding officer, but the Emperor and his black helmeted associate stepping on to the bridge. As quickly as the conversations stopped, eyes snapped to the viewscreens in front of them, not daring to look at the three men passing on the walkway above them.

The great sphere of metal that hung outside the bridge viewing windows had been visible from the Emperor's shuttle as it crossed from one Star Destroyer to the next. Now as Tarkin's Star Destroyer moved closer to it, the enormity of its scale could be appreciated. The three men staring at its form had galaxy weary eyes, yet they all stood speechless for a moment.

"Quite impressive, wouldn't you say ?" queried Moff Tarkin, a hint of a smile gracing his skeletally lean face for the first time in the Emperor's visit.

"I have studied the plans for this battle station for several months now. I have read the external dimensions numerous times, but its scope is incomprehensible until it is before your eyes," the Emperor said.

"I remember seeing those plans in your apartment, master. Where did they come from ?" Vader interjected.

"They were brought to me after the Battle of Geonosis. The Geonosians designed this battle station, but never started its construction," the Emperor explained. "So, Tarkin, you think you can complete this project and make it an operational weapon ?"

"Absolutely," Tarkin replied."It is actually similar to another of Sienar's designs. My engineers have examined this battle station and compared it to Sienar's plans. They have already suggested some improvements, but we can at least turn this shell into a working prototype. I will need some things from you to make it happen, however." Tarkin glanced suspiciously at Vader, unwilling to say more.

The Emperor sensed Tarkin's unease. "Lord Vader, will you excuse us ?"

Vader was surprised, but compliant."As you wish, my master," he said, before exiting the bridge. So, Tarkin was yet another person who held the privilege of the Emperor's confidence. Palpatine apparently had more right hands than General Grievous.

------

Vader retraced his steps to the aft hangar of the Star Destroyer. When the elevator opened, two flight technicians rushed to enter, found themselves looking up at Vader's mask, and rethought their haste. As they stepped backwards, he pushed forward out of the elevator. The two crewman found refuge in the elevator, and peered out to watch him walk across the hangar floor.

Throughout the hangar men hurried to their next duty post, their lot determined by the insignia they wore. In the vast military machine, cogs had their places, and those that broke out of line got pounded in a little harder. Such constraint was not for Vader. He was unique in the galaxy, no rank upon his chest, no bureaucracy to hold him back, no council to judge him. He answered to but one man, and could achieve as much as his intelligence, Force talent, and ambition would allow him. He made his way to the experimental fighter ships, certain that he needed no clearance to examine them.

Up close, he saw that the Sienar designed fighters were twin engine powered, but lightly built and likely quite fast.They had flat, vertical wings more than three times the height of the small, round cockpit. He was inspecting the wings, which also functioned as solar panels, when he sensed four men approaching from behind. Apparently, his passage through the hangar had generated some attention. "Move away from the ship !" came the demand.

He turned to look at his confronters. A quartet of lieutenants stood in a semicircle around him. He felt his challenger's bravado wilting, yet the young lieutenant did not yield his ground. Vader realized he had not often faced a mere human as an opponent. Aliens, droids, and Force talented individuals had been his foes ; it was ridiculous how vulnerable the lieutenant was. With ease he summoned the lieutenant's sidearm to his hand a moment before the lieutenant decided that he meant to draw his blaster. Another of the foursome, a swaggering blond, had no hesitation, and pointed his weapon directly at Vader's chest.

"Wait, Motti ," wailed a third officer.

"Who are you, and why are you near these fighters ?" challenged Motti, his blaster still aimed unwaveringly at Vader.

"I am Darth Vader, a member of the Emperor's official party," came the answer." You would do well to put down your weapon."

Motti sneered, and decided to ignore the suggestion.

Vader called his lightsaber to his right hand, igniting it midflight, and letting the captured blaster clatter on the floor. If he had faced unForced humans rarely, then his opponents had faced a lightsaber never. Its hum and red glow intimidated them into retreat, except for Motti, who possessed the self-confidence of Mace Windu. Vader spun the lightsaber forward twice, in a maneuver he had unconsciously picked up from Obi-Wan.

"Well, gentlemen," Vader said calmly, "I believe this is what they call a Corellian standoff. I know the Emperor would be displeased with me for killing one of you, as Moff Tarkin would be displeased with you for getting yourself killed." He sheathed his lightsaber. "It's time for me to return to the bridge. I trust next time we meet you will have better manners."

He turned away from the group, sensing their relief that the encounter was over, even from Motti. The lightsaber tapped reassuringly on his thigh in time with his steps. He felt no danger in turning his back on them, certain he could deflect any blaster fire with an over the shoulder parry of the lightsaber, but even more certain they had abandoned their plan to police him.

------

The battalions of Imperial troops had reassembled to mark the Emperor's departure. Halfway down the procession, Vader caught sight of the now familiar Lieutenant Motti. Motti raised his hand to his nose in a gesture considered obscene on many worlds. Vader barely turned his head towards Motti, but in his mind he removed Motti's head with his lightsaber.

In the privacy of the passenger compartment of the Emperor's shuttle, Palpatine turned to Vader. "Why did you want to kill that young lieutenant ? What could have happened in such a brief time ? And, by the way, you leak out feelings like a sieve."

"Sorry, Master. I will be more conscious of my feelings. But, besides you, there's no one to sense them anyways, " Vader replied.

"Ah, my young apprentice, just because the Jedi have been wiped out doesn't mean there aren't any Force talented beings in the Galaxy. The Jedi identification teams did not have 100 accuracy in finding Force sensitive younglings, just look at you and me. Those that remain may be untrained, but they may still pick up enough of your feelings to give them an advantage. It is time to expand your knowledge of the Force.

"By now, Lord Vader, I'm sure you have realized that there is but one Force. Dark Side and Light Side are but mere descriptions of the Force's usage within the practitioner. Dark or Light, the Force feels the same to the user, except that the Dark Side has greater intensity, hence greater power.

"Anger and fear, the classic Dark Side emotions, remove control from the user's mind, letting the Force pour in like a raging tide.The Force takes the path of least resistance through your emotions, fueling the fires already burning within. If you have your wits about you when the Force hits, you can try to control it, much as you might try to ride a galloping beast. If your emotions are not under control, the Force will whip through the canyons of your mind like a flash flood, and you may find at the end of the ride that you have done things you did not intend."

Inside his helmet, Vader thought of his last encounter with Padme', the beginning of the end. He had felt so powerful with the Dark Side, but to his shame, he had been but a novice.

Palpatine continued his discussion of the Force. "That is really the central challenge of the Dark Side. It will use you at least as often as you use it. But as I'm sure you know, the feeling of power it brings is sweeter than anything else in the Galaxy.

"The Jedi were unwilling to deal with this drawback, and so focused on maintaining control at all costs, control of oneself being tantamount to controlling the Force. Resigned to lesser power, but greater control, the Jedi forbade those emotions that could lead to the Dark Side. The Jedi speak of destiny, but the Dark Side is true destiny. The universe runs through you when it is unleashed, and you are but a puppet to its will.

"The Sith were born from the desire to possess both control and intensity. Strong emotions such as anger and fear often come like thunderstorms, rolling in at high velocity, but vanishing just as quickly. The individual is given little chance to become comfortable with them. A Sith learns to live with the Dark emotions, not avoid them. They dwell in the Dark Side, learning to maintain control in the face of its fury.

"This is where you must begin, Lord Vader. With your tremendous Force talent, the Dark Side comes easily to you, with ferocious power. But it is riding you most all of the time. You must practice at controlling the Dark Side, and learn the ways of the Sith."


	5. Seeing in the Dark

**Chapter 5 : Seeing in the Dark**

Zenna Keck was a loyal employee of Kuat Drive Yards, one of the galaxy's largest starship manufacturers. She was proud to be part of a company that for millennia had sent humankind out among the stars. Usually her job consisted of assembling hyperdrive motivators, but recently KDY had assigned her to a new project. On her new team she was required to deconstruct things, which felt terribly odd, but since it was so important to the company, she approached it with the same enthusiasm she had for building. Within a short time she found she actually enjoyed feeding the droids into the conveyor line for disassembly.That was fortunate, since there was somewhere near a quadrillion of these machines, the former Separatist Droid Army, that had to be sorted into piles of reusable circuits and recyclable metals.

Most of the droids were the ordinary battle droid model, which were not intimidating in the least. Mixed among them were more evil looking droids that sometimes gave her a start. If the sunlight hit them just right, their red control eye glowed as if they were activated. The ones that bothered her the most, though, were the ones that came with clothing. Droids shouldn't wear clothing. But there they were, the Magnaguard droids, lean and sinister, with their cloaks flowing around them. She usually pulled the cloaks off first thing, so they wouldn't get caught in the conveyor mechanics.

Today, however, she left them on, as she had received instructions to set aside a pair of Magnaguards, and a pair of super battle droids from the disassembly line. She gave no other thought to the order, especially since with it came an announcement that the line would be shut down early, and the deconstruction team would be released early for the day as well. Just as long as the damn things weren't running around when she came back to work, she didn't care what happened to them.

------

Darth Vader never liked being a Padawan. He hated restrictions, he hated evaluation, he hated supervision, and being a Padawan involved all of those. He never thought he would be back in that role, but then nothing much had gone the way he thought it would in the last six months. Besides, it was a little difficult to say 'no' to the Emperor. After their inspection of the KDY shipyards to evaluate the progress in construction of the newest class Star Destroyers, Palpatine had informed him they would be going planetside for a training exercise. What other response was there, but "Yes, Master"?

Now as he stood in the cavernous Kuati warehouse that contained the deactivated legions of the Droid Army, he tried to convince himself that it wouldn't be so bad. It might even be enjoyable to put his lightsaber to actual use again. He peered into the dark recesses of the warehouse, hearing the servomechanical sound of approaching droids, but unable to see anything of the droids but their glowing red signal receptors. When they finally entered the lighted zone of the warehouse, he was not impressed. Two super battle droids would hardly be difficult to dispatch. He powered up his lightsaber, and awaited their attack.

The battle droids unfolded their right arms, firing their built-in weapons, but he deflected their blaster fire easily. He let the Force guide his parries, and the droids retreated to avoid being hit by ricochets.Vader advanced towards the droids, meaning to end this round, and drove them back against the racks of deactivated droids. In the background, Palpatine began to speak, with his soft voice, the one as smooth as melted butter.

"Lord Vader, did you ever wonder what happened to your mother while she was held captive by the Sand People ?"

In his surprise, Vader whirled to face the Emperor. That tactical error resulted in blaster fire finding its mark on his leg armor. He cursed, and turned his focus back to the droids, who had used his inattention as an opportunity to press forward. With renewed effort, Vader pushed them back to their previous position, his mind still filled with indignation at Palpatine's affront.

The Emperor was just beginning this lesson. His voice still soft, even, he continued. "Really, they had her for, what, a month ? Plenty of time for them to get what they wanted ."

Vader remained facing the droids, but the fast, clipped sounds coming from his ventilator revealed that Palpatine's words had hit their mark. Before his injuries, it would have been a simple matter to use the Force to somersault himself close to the droids, and take them out with a few well aimed strikes of his lightsaber. Now, the same maneuver required him to use telekinesis to throw the prosthetic portion of his legs upward, while simultaneously using the Force to power the organic upper portion of his legs.Practicing this move when he was still in the rehab center had taken intense concentration, but now, infused with the Dark Side, the effort seemed minor.

He completed his somersault, and plunged his lightsaber into the chest level control eye of the super battle droid, as into the heart of a man. For the remaining droid, he backhanded the lightsaber through its waist, the narrowest part of the bulky machine. Having rid himself of the two irritants, he turned to face his tormentor.

Palpatine was smiling in that self-satisfied way that he had perfected. "You would like to come after me as well, wouldn't you, Lord Vader ? You are filled with the Dark Side, but can you use it, or will it use you ? Only now do you understand this exercise."

Inside his helmet, Vader struggled to control his rage. A low growl rumbled in his throat, and became amplified by the voice modulator. He fell back upon his Jedi training to calm himself.

With exquisite Force sensitivity, Palpatine continued his analysis of Vader. "You have gained control, but lost power - the Jedi way. You must learn to savor the intensity of feeling, the bloodlust of anger, the cold desperation of fear. You must hold them in your mind to allow the Force to express its full might."

Vader listened to the Emperor with cool regard. He understood Palpatine meant to strengthen his Dark Side skills, but he could also see that Palpatine meant to demonstrate his power over Vader. As a mentor, he knew Vader's inner demons, and did not hesitate to conjure them. There would be no graduation from Padawan status with this Master.

The Emperor was ready to start the next round. "Shall we try it again, Lord Vader ? This time we shall test your telekinetic abilities. Give me your lightsaber. "

With suspicion, Vader did as the Emperor requested. When he saw that his opponents were Magnaguard droids, he regreted his decision; these bodyguard droids were significantly more dangerous than super battle droids. With high functioning artificial intelligence, the ability to fight even if their heads were removed, and high current electrostaffs for weapons, these bodyguard droids were formidable opponents when one was armed with a lightsaber, let alone without. He reached out with his mind for his lightsaber, caressing the handle mentally. He was not going to die over some fool exercise of Palpatine's; if things got too ugly, he would pull the lightsaber in.

As before, Palpatine began to speak in the background. "Have you ever wondered what happened to Obi-Wan Kenobi ? His body has never been identified among all the Jedi killed after Order 66."

The reference to Obi-Wan caught Vader's attention, but did not draw his focus from the approaching Magnaguards.

"Do you think he was the last person to be with Padme' ? Do you think he told her the outcome of your battle ?"

Vader's inner fury rose to match that which had come forth when his mother's end had been mentioned. Conscious of his task, he channeled Dark hate and set about using the Force to dismember the droids.He acknowledged the strength of the welds on the Magnaguards as he noted the effort required to pull the head off the first bodyguard droid. He motioned a row of folded battle droids on top of the still functioning body, making sure to pull the electrostaff to him as the torso hit the floor. He circled the remaining droid cautiously, knowing his life support suit was especially vulnerable to electrical disruption. He dodged two strikes of the droid's staff, before finding an opening to impale the droid through its vulnerable midsection. With not a droid standing, Vader turned to face Palpatine, summoning his lightsaber as he did so. Once it was in his hand, he ignited it, and moved close to the Emperor.

With a pleased grin, Palpatine complimented Vader. "Excellent, Lord Vader. Much better use of the Dark Side, this time. You must be able to feel the difference."

Vader said nothing, but did not silence his lightsaber.

"Surely you understand the tools I must use to bring you to the proper frame of mind. This is how you learn to work with the Dark Side."

As he had done all his life, Vader pondered the advice of a mentor, and in the end, chose the correct action. With difficulty, he shut down the lightsaber. This was not the first time he had thought of Obi-Wan being with Padme' at the end. Did he tell her the outcome of their grievous duel ? Did she die hating him ? His rage gave way to sorrow, and he hung his head.

"Ah, my young apprentice, melancholy is a Dark emotion, but it has no power. A Padawan could destroy you now, so weak has your sadness made you." There was no hiding from the Emperor's perception. " The next lesson I must teach you is deception, how to mask your thoughts and feelings from other Force users."

"Yes, I know, my Master," Vader said. "If I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times, my thoughts betray me."

"And again, you rely on your Jedi training to solve this problem, " Palpatine chastised. "What did the Jedi teach you to keep from broadcasting your emotions to others ?"

"We were to avoid thinking about subjects that caused a strong reaction within. We were to bury our feelings deep inside to avoid detection by others ."

"Ah, yes, a typical Jedi solution. With a decrease in emotional intensity comes a weakening of the ability to make use of the Force. Do you think a Sith could bury his hate and anger, and still maintain power ? Of course not. A thousand years of suppression by the Jedi made it necessary to develop the skill of cloaking one's emotions. A Sith can feel total rage while standing undetected next to a Jedi. This masking effect even clouds a Jedi's ability to forsee the future through the Force. A most useful skill."

Vader was always in awe of the Emperor's vast knowledge of the Force. While Palpatine could easily incite him to anger, in the end he felt grateful to have such a powerful mentor. If only they had been able to reach Padme' in time, if only Obi-Wan had not prevented him from being at her side when the baby came. He knew she was alive when he last saw her on Mustafar. If she had died from his attack, as Palpatine had said, then it must have been later. Maybe he could have still saved her, if not for Obi-Wan.

"Master," he said, "there is one thing I must know. What happened to my baby ?"

Palpatine's voice took yet another form, subdued and, to Vader's ear, most sincere. "I'm afraid the child died with Padme'. At her funeral, they were buried together, as the child was still within her." He layed a hand on Vader's shoulder.

"I thought as much," Vader said quietly.

------

The Emperor's shuttle left Kuat enroute home to Imperial Center. Inside, Darth Vader was as far from Palpatine as the seating configuration would allow. This day had taxed him mentally, bringing all of his most tortured thoughts to the forefront. Maybe when he got home, he would take his speeder on a flight, and clear his mind. If he was lucky, Palpatine would work on Senatorial business during the trip back.

"Lord Vader, how was it that you were able to asphyxiate Padme' without touching her ?" Palpatine asked.

Darth Vader blinked rapidly within his helmet, and coughed in astonishment. Continued association with the Emperor was going to give him the hide of a bantha. This was a subject he did not think about. If he could erase it from his memory, he would, but with Palpatine for a mentor that seemed highly unlikely.

"I asked you a question, Lord Vader. I am quite curious, because that is a rather unusual use of the Force. I'm not sure I've really seen anything like it, not even in ancient Sith writings."

"I...I don't really remember, Master. I was very angry at the time, and not thinking clearly."

"Come now, surely you can describe it. The closest thing it reminds me of is a Force push, but it's not really that."

"No, in a Force push you concentrate the energy at your hand, and propel it against your opponent. You hit their body from the outside."

"And for the Sith, the next skill level beyond that is to deliver Force lightning. Unfortunately, because you have no organic tissue left in your hands, you will never be able to generate Force lightning. So, if you know it wasn't a Force push, then tell me what it felt like."

Vader sighed. As usual, there would be no winning this contest. He chewed his lip for a minute, then let the memory come forth. "I didn't really think about the technique. I was just so angry. I think that I focused on her throat the way I would focus on myself when performing a Force leap. I felt her tissues under my control just like I would feel my leg muscles when using the Force to somersault. Then I just tightened my grip."

For once, the Emperor was silent. When he did speak, his voice had a odd tone that carried an undercurrent of fear. "So you were able to place the Force within her body. That must be like what Darth Plagueis did when he influenced the midi-chlorians, when he was able to stop death in others."

Darth Vader was not sure he had heard that right. " 'Like' what Plagueis did ? Don't you know what he did ? Didn't you tell me you could teach me this power ?"

Palpatine was exhilarated by the danger present in Vader's rising anger. "Ah, my young apprentice, that is not exactly what I said. Only one person - Plagueis- has achieved that skill, but I though we could discover the secret, if we worked together. I had no idea you would need it so soon. I thought we would have time to work on it."

Vader felt sickened. He had sacrificed everything to obtain that power, and Palpatine had no clue how to accomplish it. _Bastard ,_ he thought, without even trying to cloak his feelings. Anger, revulsion, and grief mixed together in his mind, and he trembled with hate, not knowing where to direct it. Then he drew the curtain across his mind, the new skill Palpatine had taught him.

"You are disappointed in me," Palpatine said, "but I have kept my side of the bargain. We will work together to develop that power. I'm sure your use of the Force on Padme' is the key to discovering this power. You must agree, it would be a most valuable power."

Vader decided there was only one way to salvage this situation. He would learn everything there was to know from Palpatine. The cloaking of emotions was a remarkable skill, so surely there would be other skills equally as useful that the Jedi never taught him. Yes, he would learn everything Palpatine had to offer, and then he would kill him. Wasn't that the way of the Sith ? His voice was flat when he answered, "Yes, my Master, it would be extraordinary to have this power."

------

Emperor Palpatine's private residence on Imperial Center was uniformly decorated in a spare style that contrasted sharply with the baroque style customary on his home planet of Naboo. Some might call its simplicity elegant, while others might label it stark, but all would agree that small furry animals were out of place within its walls. Yet that very thing was to be found in a transparent cage sitting center stage on a very expensive table in a small study that adjoined the Emperor's main workroom. The cage held a choony, a soft brown and white creature small enough to lay in the palm of a man's hand. A social creature of moderate intelligence, its docile nature had made it a popular pet on Imperial Center. This one was bottle-fed, and completely unafraid. Like most nonsentient beings, it was host to a smattering of midi-chlorians.

"Now Lord Vader, we will start with this primitive being, and work towards the complex. Go ahead, use the Dark Side within this creature," the Emperor ordered.

Vader closed his eyes, focused his mind, and imagined the choony dead. The choony, for its part, sniffed at the air vents of its cage and then returned to eating.

"If I may comment, I believe you are approaching this from a Jedi perspective. The ability to cause life and death in another is a Dark skill, " Palpatine said.

"How do you know I'm not cloaking my feelings, Master ?" Vader said dryly.

"Because you're not very good at it yet. Or more specifically, not very consistent with it. I still pick up leaks of your emotional state."

Good information to know, thought Vader. A little frustrated, he used telekinesis to first elevate the choony's cage, and then the choony itself within the cage. It was not as if he was having difficulty using the Force, but it was true that he felt not much at all, let alone anger or aggression, towards the choony. He was certainly not drawing from the Dark Side.

"It's a good thing we aren't trying to save Padme' today, because, frankly, I don't think we would be very successful," Palpatine commented.

Vader was incredulous. Was there no limit to the wounds he must endure from Palpatine ? Master, or not, enough was enough. His resentment boiled to rage.

Vader stared at the choony. He gathered the Force within him, sent probing energy fingers into the creature's chest, and wrapped the Force around its heart. He felt the muscle fibers within the beating organ, felt it like he used to feel the muscles of his calves, when he had them. Then he tightened his grip, and stopped the choony's heart. He felt the blood demanding to be let in, but he would not let it.

The choony fell over. The pupils of its eyes went from small to saucers. Its tongue lolled out, turning first dark pink, then grey, then bluish purple. Its mouth gasped the awkward agonal breaths of impending death.

Vader released his grip on the choony's heart, and blood poured into the empty chambers. He could feel the heart start to beat again, feebly at first, but with increasing momentum. Its chest heaved with vigorous breaths. Its tongue bloomed to bright pink, and it licked its lips, sitting up in a daze. It got up drunkenly, ran into the side of the cage, then stood there, still recovering from its oxygen deprivation.

He turned to face the Emperor. "OK, Master - your turn," injecting as much challenge into his voice as he thought was safe.

A political smile turned up the ends of the Emperor's lips. "I think, my young apprentice, that you have just learned a great deal about the Dark Side. That is enough for today."

He could see that the Emperor would maintain the distance between their positions at all costs.The Emperor could not afford to lose face when his attempts at controlling life and death were not as successful. And he sensed that the Emperor truly did not know how to use the Force in this way. Palpatine seemed fascinated by Vader's ability to use the Force within the body of another, apparently unable to discover this secret on his own. In this matter Palpatine needed Vader as much as Vader had thought he needed Palpatine.

So, yes, he had learned some important things about the Dark Side today. He finally understood how it was to use the Dark Side, how it was possible to summon its strength without being consumed by it. Strong emotion, such as anger, was necessary to unlock its potential, but the emotion need not arise from one's opponent. He had only to gather the feeling in his mind to open the door to the Force, and when he was done with it, he closed that door. More importantly, though, a defect had been revealed in the Emperor's seemingly impenetrable armor, and he now knew that not even Palpatine was all powerful.


	6. Anniversary

**Chapter 6 : Anniversary **

_Anakin awoke gradually. He turned over to lay his body against Padme'. The slow rhythm of her breathing told him she was still asleep. Her skin felt so soft and warm against his chest. He put one arm across her belly, pulling her tighter against him. He nuzzled her hair out of the way, first kissing, then gently biting the nape of her neck. "Careful," she whispered, "you'll wake the baby." As if on cue, an infant's cry arose from the nearby crib._

Darth Vader sat bolt upright in his bed within the darkened hyperbaric chamber. His heart pounded, the sound of the baby's cry still ringing in his ears. The dream felt so real he thought he could taste her on his lips. He sat in the dark, holding on to the last tendrils of the sensations, before reality intruded completely. This was unlike his other Force driven visions. Always before they had revealed events in progress, or yet to be. He knew Padme' was dead; this was not their future, and he had mourned the death of his child as he had mourned for Padme'. Still, he had learned not to doubt that which the Force chose to show him.

The implications of his vision filled his head. What if his child did exist somewhere in the Galaxy ? Certainly it would have been Obi-Wan who took the child ; he had been there on Mustafar, and must have flown Padme''s ship offplanet at the end. He couldn't imagine Obi-Wan raising the child, though, toting a small infant as he slunk in exile, wherever he was hiding. And if he was not hiding, he was dead; there had been no evidence of Obi-Wan in the past year.

So if Obi-Wan did not have the baby, who did ? It seemed unlikely that the baby would have been given to Padme''s parents on Naboo, since that would have surely caught Palpatine's attention. As for himself, there was only his stepfamily on Tatooine. Not his blood, and not of very long acquaintance, the Lars were the closest people in the Galaxy to pass as his family. The desolation of Tatooine did make it an easy place to hide things. Logic told him to look for the baby there.

He admitted he was thinking as if the baby's existence was a certainty, when he had nothing but his vision to support that view. A visit to Tatooine would solve the mystery, but that was out of the question. The Emperor had assigned him elsewhere, and would not take well to him following his own agenda. Then there was the matter of Palpatine's denial of the baby's life. If the baby did live, then either the Emperor had lied to him, again, or he was unable to see clearly in this matter. Perhaps the Force spoke louder to him regarding the child than to Palpatine.

It was a daunting task to find a single small consciousness from this distance, but he felt the need to try . He quieted his mind, and with utmost concentration tried to reach across the Galaxy with the Force. He sat for several minutes, intently feeling for the slightest ping of return.

His heart opened to hope for a moment, an emotion he had thought he would never feel again. Realistically, though, he was not going to be able to sense the child's presence from this distance. If the baby lived, it was but a toddler, of insufficient awareness to answer. He would somehow have to make the trip to Tatooine. He would patiently await the opportunity, and if he was very careful, he might even be able to nudge the Emperor's thinking in that direction.

When his mind returned to the present, he realized he had been unconsciously tracing the seam where the metal of his prosthesis met the flesh of his leg. For all the advanced circuitry present in his artificial limbs, the sensation did not match living tissue. He glanced at the time. Too early to get up, he thought, better get a few more hours of sleep. He was shipping out in the morning, his first assignment without the Emperor.

------

Captain Mazdan, commander of the _Victory_ class Star Destroyer _Justice_, stood before his lieutenants at the conference table in the officers' strategy room. He had worked with most of these men for many missions, and they were a solid team. Uncharacteristic anxiety had infiltrated that team, however, the result of rumors circulating regarding a visit from an emissary direct from the Emperor.

"Gentlemen," Mazdan began,"I want to give you the details of our new assignment, as well as answer any questions you may have about our, uh,... envoy from the Emperor who will be on board for this mission."

He waited a moment to let them grasp the fact that the Imperial representative would be discussed, and felt the tension in the room decrease. He continued," Our assignment is to go to Neria and negotiate an agreement with the planetary authorities to allow the Empire to establish a military base there. Neria had no direct Senatorial representation under the Republic, and is content to continue its independent path. Its location, however, is of strategic importance to the Empire. The Nerian Council will be allowed to continue local control as long as they cooperate with the Emperor's demands. If they are resistant, then the Empire will assume control of the planet. Questions ?"

"Yes, sir." The first to speak was Lieutenant Vierda, who had served with Mazdan the longest. "If the inhabitants are uncooperative, what will be the extent of our engagement ? This ship is certainly no _Imperator_. "

"Point taken, Lieutenant," replied Mazdan."Our instructions are to maintain a presence until reinforcements arrive. However, the Emperor feels that his envoy will make resistance less likely." There, he had opened that door.

"Permission to speak freely, sir, " asked Lieutenant Grylta. Younger than most officers of his rank, he had earned top marks at the Academy, and his ambitious nature was always noted in his performance evaluations. When Captain Mazdan gave a consenting nod, he asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "Ok, so who is this special envoy ? Darth Vader is the name I keep hearing, but who is that ?"

Throughout the room murmurs echoed, as neighbor leaned in to neighbor to discuss their own views on the subject.

A reprimanding look from Mazdan hushed the room."You are correct, the envoy is named Darth Vader. I cannot tell you much about his background, except that he appeared about 10 months ago at an Imperial Senate meeting, where the Emperor introduced him as Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith. Since then he has appeared periodically in public and military settings, always in the presence of the Emperor."

"Sir, but what does this mean for us ? What is the chain of command ? Do I have to obey his orders ?" Grylta asked.

"I am still commander of this ship and the ultimate authority onboard," Mazdan assured them."Military decisions will follow the normal chain of command. However, being that he is a direct representative of the Emperor, it would be prudent to follow any instructions he gives you that do not conflict with normal military operations."

"Excuse me, sir," interjected Lieutenant Okka, "but what if he gets in the way ? What does he know about military protocol ? And who are the Sith, anyways ?"

From the back of the room came a reply that was completely out of order. "I heard that he used to be Anakin Skywalker, from the Clone Wars."

Heads turned to look at Lieutenant Bren, the source of the errant comment.

"Not likely," disputed Vierda. "Skywalker was a Jedi, and they were all wiped out at the Emperor's command. Why would he save just one of them ?"

"I've got a cousin stationed on Tarkin's ship, and I'm just saying, that's what I heard," insisted Bren.

"Gentlemen, enough speculation," Mazdan said, taking back control of the room."Our guest will arrive at 14:00 Standard hours, and I expect you all to be in the hangar bay to welcome him. I also expect your complete commitment to the success of this mission. Dismissed."

The line officers of the _Justice_ filed out of the strategy room. Bren was not ready to give up his assertion."I still say he's Skywalker."

Vierda had had enough of this conversation. "Fine, when he gets here, you ask him."

Bren took the gauntlet."You watch me."

------

Darth Vader looked out through the cockpit glass of his fighter, a former Jedi ship rebadged as Imperial property. Now that TIE fighters had become the new small ship of the Imperial Fleet, he supposed he was going to have to give up his familiar Eta-2 _Actis_. From the fighter's position on the floor of the _Justice's_ hangar, he could see a small group of Imperial officers and troops standing in formation. Not the kind of spectacular reception the Emperor received, but enough to show respect.

He popped the hatch on his ship, unbuckled himself, and stepped down from the fighter via the wing. He walked towards the waiting group, as the commander came forward to greet him.

"Lord Vader, welcome to the _Justice_. I am Captain Mazdan, commander of this ship. I have to say that when your clearance code came in, we were expecting you to arrive in a transport, not a fighter."

"Thank you, Captain. I fly myself whenever I can," Vader said. "When will you be conducting the briefing for this mission ? I need to go over your plans."

The inquiry caught Mazdan off guard. Already Vader was not what he had expected, although he really was not sure what he had expected."We..I already held the officers' meeting. After you are settled in your quarters, I will arrange to go over the details with you separately."

"Good," Vader pronounced,"it will take less time with just the two of us there."

They passed the detachment of crew waiting patiently in parade rest. All eyes swung to watch the imposingly tall figure in black pass by. Whatever bravado had existed in the strategy room quickly wilted. Vierda glanced questioningly at Bren, who had become an uncharacteristic model of decorum. When it became obvious that Bren was refusing to make eye contact, Vierda counted himself the victor, and allowed himself a broad grin.

------

Ambassador Tan Nikord from the Governing Council of Neria waited outside the terminal of the spaceport serving the capitol city of Zillah, supported by Nerian Security forces. More troops waited at the Capitol building, not to defend against the contingent from the Empire, but to keep the Independent Society of Neria from attempting a guerrilla attack on the negotiations. Ambassador Nikord prayed that the ISN would not interfere with the negotiations. The presence of a resistive force on Neria could only make total occupation by the Empire a more likely scenario.

Nikord watched the landing craft disgorge its passengers. Stormtroopers, two squads of them, marched down the ramp, followed by two Imperial officers, and, finally, a tall helmeted figure all in black. Nikord had never seen this type of Imperial armor before. Was this a Special Ops soldier, or perhaps a nonhuman representative from the Empire, unable to tolerate atmospheric conditions on Neria ? He rubbed his jaw in concentration. He had not had many dealings with nonhuman lifeforms ; he hoped he would not breach some alien protocol.

------

Darth Vader stood before the steps of the Nerian Capitol building, flanked by Lieutenants Grylta and Vierda. "Give me a stormtrooper from each squad, while you remain outside with the rest of the troops," Vader instructed.

Vierda and Grylta glanced at each other. "You'll be highly outnumbered if there's a problem. Caution says to take a squad inside with you," Vierda said.

The two lieutenants thought they sensed a smile flash across Vader's face, though it was impossible to see through the black mask. "The stormtroopers are for appearances. I am in no need of protection," Vader said.

The lieutenants each motioned a man forward, and the stormtroopers ascended the steps of the Capitol behind Vader, where Ambassador Nikord and his entourage awaited.

"Welcome to Zillah, Lord Vader," Nikord said with a bow of his head. Inside the spaceport the dark figure had introduced himself as Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith. However, Nikord was still unsure what sort of being he was facing. "Do you have any special requirements that we can attend to before the meeting begins ?" the Ambassador asked courteously.

"No," Vader said curtly,"this will not take long."

Nikord led Vader to the Nerian Council chambers, which were paneled with purple liawood, the predominant tree in the great Nerian forests. Inside the Council members rose from the oval table emblazoned with the planetary crest, as Nikord made the introductions. "Honorable members of the Council, may I present Lord Vader, special emissary from the Emperor Palpatine. Lord Vader, these are the leaders of our world, representing the nine continents of Neria."

The chairman of the Council, Par Lasko, called the meeting to order. "Lord Vader, previous communications with the Empire regarding the Emperor's desire to establish a presence in this region were not very specific. What else can you tell us about this plan ?"

" As you know, Neria sits very near the intersection of the Corellian Run and the Hydian Way space routes, a strategic position. Denon sits precisely at the intersection, but it is too developed and too well represented to permit the establishment of a new base. Neria's location is a satisfactory alternative. The Emperor is willing to allow you to continue local rule, if you concede to his requests," Vader said.

"That carries a veiled threat of conquest," responded Lasko. "We are a sovereign world. The Republic always left us in peace."

"The Empire is a 10,000 kilo Rancor; it sits where it likes," Vader replied. "The Emperor is only asking for land on which to construct a base, and an open orbit around your world for the installation of a military space station. These are small concessions to maintain your autonomy. Your planet would then be under the protection of the Empire. This could be of benefit to both sides."

"What assurances do we have that the Empire would uphold to its end of the bargain if we agree to the Emperor's demands ?" asked Lasko.

"The Emperor never gives assurances," Vader laughed, "but I can tell you that the Empire is an enormous beauracracy to maintain. Places that manage themselves are quite valuable.The less attention you draw , the easier things will go for you. If there are problems the Empire must attend to, the more likely it is that the Emperor will take direct control."

"It sounds as if we have no choice in this matter- the Empire is coming regardless of our wishes," Lasko said.

"You have a choice, but it is a matter of degree, " Vader countered. "Again, conform to the Emperor's requests, and you will have only an Imperial outpost on your world. Resist, and you will have stormtroopers in every major city."

"Lord Vader, what specifically would the Empire require from Neria in terms of land requirements ?" inquired Councilor Rako. His continent was the least densely populated on Neria, and he could see the other Councilors voting his continent the home of the Imperial base.

Darth Vader did not answer immediately. He was gazing out the windows of the Council chambers, and appeared to be deep in thought.

The Councilors turned to each other, dismayed. If the answer was this long in coming, it must be a terrible truth.

The silence continued, and the Governing Council grew more uncomfortable. Ambassador Nikord sought to gain the attention of their black cloaked guest. "Lord Vader ?" he inquired, with great trepidation.

Vader whirled about suddenly, causing the collective Council to flinch in their chairs. His attention was not directed at them, however, but at the pair of stormtroopers. "Rejoin your squads, and make a perimeter defense around the building !" he ordered them.

He then swung his attention to the Nerian Council. " A group of fighters is advancing on this building, and they mean to mount an assault. They are coming for you as much as for the Imperial presence. Is there anything you need to tell me ?"

"That can't be possible. If there were intruders, the city alarms would have sounded," Chairman Lasko assured him. "You must be mistaken. No one in their right mind would attack the Empire."

"I have seen them, and they are coming," Vader insisted. "If you are unwilling to defend yourselves, I will take matters into my own hands." He rose from the great table, and strode out of the Council chambers.

At the head of the Capitol steps, Vader could see that the stormtroopers were not in a perimeter defense, but were gathered in formation by the Imperial lieutenants. "Why have you disregarded my orders ?" he said angrily. "There is an approaching offensive."

Lieutenant Grylta spoke first. "We are in charge of our men here. We assessed the situation, and decided a defensive posture was not necessary."

"Would you disobey an order from the Emperor ?" Vader fumed. "Because that is tantamount to what you are doing."

Grylta was unwavering in his certainty. "With all due respect, the command of my men is my responsibility. We conferred with the Nerian Security Force, and they will alert us to any approaching hostiles."

"Fool ! The Nerian Security Force does not know how to use the Force. They cannot see the intruders like I can," Vader said.

Lieutenant Grylta meant to respond, but the sound of blaster fire disrupted his thoughts. Then a thousand things seemed to happen at once. A stormtrooper in his squad collapsed in a heap, taken out by sniper fire. A crackle and a hum sounded loudly behind him, and then Vader shoved past him, his lightsaber deflecting incoming blaster fire. Screams and shouts errupted from pedestrians in the Capitol streets, and, in the background, he heard an alarm sound.

The stormtroopers were kneeling now, returning the blaster fire that came from the rooftop of a building a few hundred meters from the Capitol. Grylta looked for Vierda. He found him at the side of a downed stormtrooper; Vierda's squad had lost a man, too. In his ear came Vader's deep electronically amplified voice ordering him to get his men under cover. Grylta nodded, recovered his wits, and ordered his squad to make a retreat into the Capitol building. Vierda was now doing the same, and only Vader remained on the steps. Grylta wasn't sure how Vader could track multiple snipers, but the blazing lightsaber was always there in time to meet the incoming fire.

Nerian Security troops made their way into the building in pursuit of the snipers, and the blaster fire ceased. Vader returned to the interior of the Capitol building to find the stormtroopers in a protective ring around the Nerian councilors and Ambassador Nikord.

"Now, Ambassador, are you sure you have nothing to tell me ?" Vader boomed.

"They must be crackpots, renegades, rogues," answered Nikord, a tremor in his voice.

"I can feel your fear, Ambassador. You are lying to me !" The volume of Vader's voice had ratcheted up a notch.

"Lord Vader, please," Chairman Lasko stepped forward from the group of councilors. "Let the Ambassador be. He is only following our orders."

The Chairman gave a great sigh before proceeding. "Not all of our citizens agree with letting the Empire on to Neria. We have been combating an insurgent group, the Independent Society of Neria. I'm sure the snipers, when caught, will prove to be members of the ISN."

"It is unwise to lie to the Empire," Vader said. "I will have to report to the Emperor that many troops will be necessary to secure Neria. If you can prove you enough control over the situation to return us to the troop ship without incident, then I may soften my report."

"Absolutely, Lord Vader," Said Chairman Lasko."The ISN makes trouble, but we can handle them. Please reconsider your report to the Emperor. We will cooperate with all Imperial requests."

------

Once again, Captain Mazdan headed the table in the strategy room onboard the _Justice_. This time not only his officers were seated at the table, but also Darth Vader. "Gentlemen, I need your reports. "

Vader rose to speak first. "The Nerian Council has agreed to allow the establishment of an Imperial base planetside. They have an opposition group, however, that will probably make it necessary for the Empire to assume control of the planet in order to avoid needless guerrilla attacks on Imperial troops. Needless like the loss of the two men that this mission suffered."

Lieutenant Grylta spoke without requesting permission. "Captain, we were attacked by snipers. These losses were unavoidable, sir."

"I told you they were coming !" Vader thundered." You countermanded my orders to put the squads in a defensive position. Your action, or better said, inaction, led directly to the loss of those men."

"But, Captain, you told us we were still in charge of our men. There was no indication of imminent attack, other than Lord Vader's hunch." Grylta was determined to admit no fault.

"Do they teach you nothing of the Force?" Vader was livid."The Force is not a 'hunch'. The Force allows me to see the future. It is idiocy to go against the will of the Force."

"Lord Vader, you must understand that the use of the Force as a strategic weapon is not part of Imperial military training," Captain Mazdan said, as he stepped in to deflect Vader's anger. "They were following my orders, and I take full responsibility. I have to admit you are a bit of a mystery to us. My instructions from my superior officer described you as an envoy from the Emperor, not a commanding officer."

"I am right hand to the Emperor. To disobey me is to disobey the Emperor himself," Vader said. "Your opposition to my orders will be noted in my report to the Emperor."

------

From his quarters onboard the Justice, Darth Vader configured the portable holoprojector to send his report to the Emperor. Though his words in the strategy room had been unswerving, he had to admit his relationship with the Emperor was at times vague. His apprentice, the Emperor called him, but he knew the Emperor intended no ascension for him. That left him not as heir, but as what, enforcer, errand boy, servant ? The encouragement Palpatine had given him when the Jedi were slow to use his talents had vanished now that Palpatine stood as his master.

The holoprojector signaled the presence of an incoming message, and he positioned himself in the visual range of the transmitter. A small holographic image of Palpatine arose from the device.

"Was your mission a success, Lord Vader ?" began Palpatine.

"Yes, Master. The Nerian Council has given full agreement to the establishment of Imperial bases on their world. Internal opposition exists, however, among their citizenry, possibly requiring Imperial military intervention," Vader said.

"Excellent. I had forseen that you would do well. The minor resistance on Neria will be of little consequence to the Empire," Palpatine concluded.

"Master, I do have a concern about the mission," Vader said.

"And what would that be, Lord Vader ?"

"Apparently I am outranked by even the lowest Imperial officers. My commands to the stormtroopers were overridden by mere lieutenants, resulting in the unnecessary loss of men."

"Why would you wish to be part of the Imperial Naval hierarchy ? And the loss of stormtroopers is like water over the Deeja Falls- they are instantly replaced, and the power of the whole is undiminished. That's why we bought them."

"Future missions will run more smoothly if my position is made clear," Vader insisted.

"Are you asking me to intervene on your behalf, Lord Vader ?" Palpatine said with derision.

Vader realized that, once again, Palpatine had maneuvered the discussion so that only one reply was possible. "Of course not, Master."

"You're a smart boy. You will find a way to circumvent the military structure. We can talk more about this when you return to Imperial City". The holographic image disappeared, an inarguable end to the conversation.

While Palpatine had easily dismissed his concerns, Vader's conviction was undiminished. His lack of formal position within the military was an obstacle, apparently placed there by Palpatine's design. The stormtroopers would be at his command only so long as the military did not contradict his orders, a failsafe measure that protected Palpatine. Always his abilities were feared by those above him; in this the Emperor was no different than the Jedi. There would come a time, he promised himself, when he would throw off the restraints placed by his masters. Especially if, indeed, he was father to a living child.


	7. A Visit to Tatooine

**Chapter 7 : A Visit to Tatooine **

The _Imperator_ class Star Destroyer _Assurance_ exited hyperspace near the Outer Rim world of Exarga. On its bridge Darth Vader silently paced the length of the command walkway, trying to keep his thoughts focused on the task at hand. The Exargan Mining Authority had failed to pay the expected amount of taxes to the Empire, and the Emperor had sent him to correct that deficiency. He pushed away his personal thoughts by reviewing the information he had been given about Exarga.

Exarga had a history of underreporting their production of ore, and hence the payment of fees, to their own Mining Guild almost a decade ago, before the start of the Clone Wars. Now it was possible they were trying the same ploy on the youthful Empire. Perhaps the Exargans felt their remote location protected them from their governors, or that the Empire was spread too thin trying to keep the systems of the former Republic in line.

Whatever their reasoning, Vader was here to convince them that the Emperor did notice the small things. The Empire was a ravenous mouth that demanded to be fed; revenue sources would never be allowed to dry up. If the Exargans could not be depended upon to provide the expected level of taxes, then perhaps the Empire would have to assume control of the entire mining operation. The metallic ores produced therein were more directly valuable to the Empire than credits. The expanding Imperial Navy,with its the planned Super Star Destroyers, and projects like Governor Tarkin's Great Weapon required almost incomprehensible amounts of materials.

The seizing of an independent authority by the Empire would have some repercussions in the Senate, but most of the commercial organizations that banded together under the Separatist flag had already been absorbed by the Empire. The Emperor's ability to handle criticism had never been in doubt, and Vader knew Palpatine could convince the Senate, as he done countless times in the past, that such an action was taken only for the good of the Empire, Senators and citizens alike. For those systems that whole heartedly supported the Emperor, the explanation would seem quite reasonable. For those that glanced at him with distrust, they would be powerless to act on their suspicions.

For Vader, the trip to Exarga presented another opportunity, one he had gently nurtured into fruition. With the Emperor's blessing, he was being sent into the same region of space that also contained Tatooine. Since his first vision of his child two years ago he had hidden that secret deep down, Jedi-style, not trusting himself to keep it concealed by cloaking.While the delay in beginning the search had been trying, the truly difficult task had been finding a way to come to Tatooine that did not draw the Emperor's attention. He did not understand why, but it seemed the existence of his child was something the Force had not shared with his Master, and he meant to keep it that way.

------

The agents of the Imperial Revenue Squad were not all from the same species, but they might as well have been. The emotion that pervaded their thought processes was suspicion, profound suspicion of all things.This was true whether they were computer technicians, financial specialists, or the elite interviewers. Whether they had been selected for this outlook, or whether it had been trained into them, Darth Vader was not sure.It had made them remarkably effective in their work, though, and more than one system had confessed to misdeeds when simply threatened with the prospect of being reviewed by the Imperial Revenue Squad.

It helped that the Emperor had given the Squad expanded police powers with which to conduct their business. Minus the weaponry, of course. It would have been irresponsible to arm a group so inclined to see the enemy in everyone. They could, however, enter private property, open sealed records, and confiscate computers with impunity. It was probably safer to spit on an Imperial Guard than to try to evade the civic duty of paying taxes. But pride in one's intellect was a common fault among the Galactic citizenry, and the IRS was kept quite busy by those who thought they could outsmart the Empire.

The Squad supervisor on board the _Assurance_, Special Agent Srre, sat next to Vader, and across from the ship's commander, Admiral Tresad.

"Admiral, it is your responsibility to safely bring the IRS to the offices of the Exargan Mining Authority. You are to provide complete troop support to their needs, transport them to further sites as needed, and most of all, keep them completely protected. The Emperor will be quite displeased if any member of the IRS is harmed," Vader said.

"But I thought you, as the Emperor's representative, would be escorting the IRS," said Admiral Tresad.

"Are you telling me that you are incapable of landing troops into this situation ?" said Vader.

"Of course not, Lord Vader. I could place troops in the living room of the Hutt Syndicate. That is not the issue," said Tresad.

"Everywhere we go, we are treated the same," Special Agent Srre interrupted."Other Imperials avoid us as if we carried the brain plague.You should be more grateful. We may not be soldiers, but we are likely the most valuable squad in the Imperial service. Without us, the Emperor would have no credits to place in your accounts on payday. You eat because of our work."

"Agent Srre, I couldn't agree more. The successful resolution of this shortfall is of extreme importance to the Emperor. I'm sure the Admiral is in complete agreement, and will be proud to escort your squad to the Exargan headquarters. Isn't that correct, Admiral ?" Vader had learned more than Sith skills while at the side of the Emperor.

Admiral Tresad stared at Vader's mask in a manner some might have found intimidating. "Yesss...The crew of the _Assurance_ can always be counted on to follow the Emperor's will. We are at your disposal, Agent Srre."

Srre brightened for a moment, then let his happiness slip away quickly, lest it take hold. "I will go prepare my men. This is likely to be a complicated investigation."

Tresad turned back to face Vader. "So, if you will not be helping me with the IRS, what will you be doing?"

"This mission has two phases. While the IRS looks for the record trail of the missing funds, I will be determining what happened to the ore production."

"I suppose that involves the rattletrap ship you loaded into my hangar ?" Tresad said.

"Making planetfall in a new Imperial shuttle about guarantees that the locals won't talk to you," Vader said.

"I'd hardly call you inconspicuous."

"I know more about the common man than you think, Admiral. Besides, I have an assistant to do the actual legwork."

"You mean that criminal I wanted kept in the brig ? I'll have to have the utensils in the mess counted since you let him loose on the ship."

" Kel Wezla is an interpreter, not a thief. He speaks 24 languages, and will be most helpful in Mos Eisley."

" Mos Eisley, eh ? Well, as long as you take him with you, I'll be happy."

------

Darth Vader had to admit Agent Srre was right about the IRS being responsible for the credits in all of their accounts. Courtesy of the Emperor, he had an expensive apartment in Imperial City, access to most any ship he wanted, and an ever rising sum in his personal account. It rose mostly because he had never acquired the habit of spending, having gone from being a slave to being a Jedi Padawan, neither of which had much opportunity to handle credits.Every once in awhile he did come across something he wanted to buy, like the battle scarred ARC-170 that Admiral Tresad had spoken of with such distaste. He recognized it would suit his needs for the expedition to Tatooine, so he had bought it from the salvage yard, refurbished the hyperdrive, and made it spaceworthy again.His credits had also facilitated the release of the former Separatist operative Kel Wezla, who sat in the copilot's seat of the ARC.

"I haven't seen one of these for awhile," Wezla said, "not since the War for Freedom."

"On what planet was that ?" Vader said.

"You know, the Clone Wars. Except in the Confederacy of Independent Systems, we called it the War for Freedom.That's how I ended up in detention on Coruscant. My neighbor heard me call it that, and turned me in. One slip of the tongue, and they turned me in for having an anti-Imperial attitude."

"Fortunately for you, your talent for languages was noted. I expect you to make good use of those skills while you are in Mos Eisley," Vader said. "I need you to listen for any mention of Exargan metals being bought or shipped out through Mos Eisley. It is equally important to listen for the buyer's identity."

He flipped a credit disc into Wezla's hands. "There's 1,000 credits on this to feed yourself, or buy access to information. You decide which is more important, but do remember I expect results when I return."

"Return ? Are you leaving me alone in Mos Eisley ?" Wezla asked.

"I have business elsewhere on Tatooine. I will return shortly for you. And remember, the credits on that disc are completely traceable, so don't have any thoughts about running off. If I have to hunt you down, you will regret it. Give me the information I am seeking, and I'll pay you 5,000 credits. Come up empty handed, and it's back to the detention center in Imperial City."

"Don't worry," Wezla said,"if I could find embezzlers among the Neimodians, I can find your smugglers."

------

After leaving Wezla on the outskirts of Mos Eisley, Vader flew the ARC far enough out beyond the city to be certain he would be alone. He closed his eyes, emptied his mind, and made himself completely receptive to the Force. Only his ventilator made background noise in his head. He felt its pull, the Force, first faintly, then stronger as his concentration increased. He turned his body towards the pull, at last feeling it rush to him and through him. He remained in meditation for a moment, reveling in its touch.

When he opened his eyes, he saw he was facing the direction of Anchorhead. Of course. The child would be at the Lars homestead. Someone would have brought the baby there : Obi-Wan. Would Obi-Wan be there, too, helping to raise his child ? The thought made his heart turn black. He cloaked his emotions to prevent the imagined Obi-Wan from detecting his presence.

He returned to the controls of the ARC, hit the throttle, and flew the craft near its atmospheric limits. Focusing on the signal coming from the direction of Anchorhead, he let go of conscious piloting control and followed the trail that the Force set before him.

The homestead came into view at the edge of the horizon. He turned on the zoom function of the helmet, something he rarely did, preferring to keep his visual field as natural as the helmet allowed. He scaled back on the throttle of the ARC to make a reasonable approach to the homestead. It had been six years since he had been here last. He had come then to rescue his mother, but he had been too late. He would not be too late for his child.

The Force resonated in him now. Was this what Qui-Gon had felt at their first meeting ? He landed the ARC, setting it down in the glaring Tatooine sand. The homestead looked the same. He looked towards his mother's grave, finding it neat and well tended. A fourth headstone stood near hers; had Cliegg Lars died ?

He turned his attention to the entrance of the home, and saw what he had come for, a small boy, blond and fair, in whom the Force sang. Inside the ARC he froze, not able to take his eyes off the boy. He had wondered if the child would be like Padme', dark haired and intense, but instead he looked just like his father.So, it was true; his son lived. Palpatine was wrong, disasterously wrong, whether by deceit or ignorance.

If Palpatine was wrong about his son, then perhaps he had lied about Padme' as well.He reached back into that dark place, relived the memory that he could not bear, and once again felt his certainty that she had been alive. He had hurt her, no doubt of that, but maybe he had not killed her. The relief contained in that possibility washed over him. He felt his tears, hot as they left his eyes, then cold as the pressurized air of the ventilator hit his face. Maybe there was hope in life after all, in this boy, in this last trace of Padme'. If he could not save her, he would save their child.

A woman came up from the interior of the home. Beru, he recognized Beru. A man came from around the garage, and walked toward the ARC : his step-brother, Owen. His mind raced. He had not fully thought out what he would do if he found the child; he had only known that he had to discover if his vision was true.

He had to take the boy, of course, his son, his and Padme's. He would take him now, raise him, teach him everything he would need to know. But how ? If he were to remove his mask and helmet, struggle to breathe in the hot dry air, Beru would not recognize him. She would not hand over this child she had raised as her own. To take the boy, he would have to kill Beru and Owen.

He watched the boy talk excitedly to Beru, pointing at the ship. He felt the excitement within the boy, but also his underlying security. He remembered his own mother, how good she made him feel, the sense of peace and safety she brought to him. How could he replace that, if he were to take the boy by violence, tear him from the only home he had known ? And then there was the matter of Palpatine. How could he continue to keep the boy hidden from his Master, who would only be too delighted to have another toy ? With that thought he knew that he could not take his son, no matter how much he wanted to, not until he could keep him safely out of the Emperor's reach.

Owen continued his approach to the ARC, meaning to engage the stranger on his homestead. He knew not that the shadow of death had passed over him.

Vader climbed out of the ARC into the blazing Tatooine sunlight, his cloak billowing in the desert wind. Beru called the boy-- he heard her call him "Luke"-- and took him downstairs into the home. He repeated the name, "Luke", softly so that the voice modulator did not pick up the sound, so that he could hear it in his own voice.

Owen stood before him now, a man who had offered to be his brother once, might still offer to be his brother now. " Are you lost ?" Owen said to him. "Can I help you find something ?"

"I'm looking for Obi-Wan Kenobi. Have you seen him ?" he said. Not the truth, but it would do.

"No, I don't know who that is," Owen said.

Not the truth either, he sensed. The mention of Obi-Wan's name had made Owen flash with fear. Obi-Wan had definitely been here, was probably watching over the boy. His boy. It didn't sit well with him to leave him here with Obi-Wan close by, but the Emperor was the greater threat.

"Probably have the wrong town. I'm probably supposed to be over by Mos Espa, " he said.

And with that he made himself turn away from Owen, and Beru, and Luke. _I will return, Luke. I promise you_, he thought.

The battered ARC-170 rose off the sand and headed back towards Mos Eisley.

------

Back on board the _Assurance_ Darth Vader was eager to give his report to the Emperor. Kel Wezla had done an exceptional job on Tatooine. Vader had been so pleased with Wezla's findings that he not only paid him, but let him vanish into the desert shadows. The information that Wezla had unearthed could be used to stop the growing opposition to the Empire. With this mission, Vader had accomplished something of importance, made a real contribution to protecting the Empire. He was sure Palpatine would be equally pleased with the information.

"So, Lord Vader, have you found where the Exargans have been hiding their credits ?" Palpatine asked.

"Yes, Master. The Exargans have been holding back part of their ore production to sell on the black market to Chandrila. I'm sure Chandrila is processing the ore to use in building their own starships."

"Why would you think that, Lord Vader ?"

"Chandrila is an agricultural planet. What need would they have for shiploads of doonium ?"

"Farm machinery, perhaps. The leap to the idea that they are building a secret navy is quite large."

"But the Chandrilan Senator Mon Mothma is your most outspoken critic. She could be working with other senators to build an opposition force.This possibility demands immediate investigation."

"When I want political analysis from you, Lord Vader, I'll ask for it."

"But if they are building a rebel force, wouldn't you want to crush it right away ?"

"Why would you think that you know better than I how to run the Empire ? Perhaps you should look up the meaning of the word 'apprentice'. But don't worry, we will separate Exarga from its ill-gotten profits. If they are selling materials to Chandrila, they will have income to spare."

Darth Vader was dumbfounded. He had been certain the Emperor would congratulate him on his efforts, and send him on to Chandrila to bring an end to their rebellious activities. Instead, Palpatine was turning a blind eye to the situation. If he didn't know better, he might think Palpatine wanted the resistance to grow.

"Did you find anything else on your travels, Lord Vader ?" Palpatine asked.

Even though he had triple barricaded his thoughts of Luke, Darth Vader was suddenly relieved that this was only a holographic conversation. "No Master, a few stories of doonium mines in Mos Eisley, but nothing of importance."

------

With his belly full, Obi-Wan Kenobi should have felt content. Instead, he felt the leadened lump in his gut that usually followed him out the door of the Lars homestead. Another week, another family dinner, and another opportunity to feel he was doing the wrong thing. Sure, the Lars were good people, but this was no way to raise a Jedi.

Owen Lars came up the interior stairs to join him outside the entrance to the home.

"Someone came asking about you today," Owen said casually, as if it were a common occurrence.

Obi-Wan stared silently at Owen, unaware that his mouth had fallen open. He probed Owen's mind, feeling for amusement, but found only confusion. "So are you going to tell me who it was, or make me guess ?"

Owen shook his head."I don't know who it was. A ship came, smaller, pretty beat up. Only one person on board. He didn't say much, just asked me if I knew where Obi-Wan Kenobi was. I told him 'no', and he got in his ship and left."

"If you didn't recognize him, what did he look like ?" Obi-Wan said.

"Well, that's the thing. His face was covered by a helmet. I couldn't see any part of him. He was really tall, though, dressed all in black."

Obi-Wan's face tightened. "Did he ask about the boy ?"

"No," Owen said, "Luke was right there with Beru, but he never said anything about him. He just asked if I knew where you were. So, do you know who it was ?"

"I must take Luke. We need to leave right now," Obi-Wan said.

"What are you talking about ? Who was that?"

"That was Anakin, or what's left of him. Senator Organa saw him just as you described at the Imperial Senate. He's come for the boy. I must take him to safety," Obi-Wan said.

"He didn't say anything about taking Luke, he just asked about you," Owen replied."You're not taking Luke anywhere."

"You don't understand. He will come back. He must not be allowed to see the boy."

"The only one talking about taking Luke is you, and I'm not going to let you do it."

"The boy is not yours to keep. You are only watching him for the Jedi. You don't know his importance."

"Luke is not property. He does not belong to you. We love him as our own son, and you are not taking him from us."

"You don't understand who Anakin has become. Luke cannot be allowed to go with his father. You must send Luke with me now."

"If that was Anakin, I felt no danger from him. The only one threatening Luke is you. I'm tired of all your Jedi nonsense. Don't ever come near my family again."


	8. In the Name of the Empire

**Chapter 8 : In the Name of the Empire **

As a boy, Darth Vader had looked up at the Tatooine night sky, ablaze with the glory of a million stars, and wished that he could visit them all. As a man he had visited more than most, but of course realized the impossibility of his boyhood wish. Still, the thought of going into Wild Space, to explore the unknown, fed his very soul. He wondered if his boy, gazing up at the same night sky, would grow up with the same dream of adventure.

He would once again be setting foot on the sands of Tatooine, but not to rescue his son.The temptation to make a side trip, to set eyes upon Luke again, had played through his mind, but he knew it was a self indulgent wish. Risking bringing Imperial attention on the boy would not help him bring Luke home. Only when he walked as his own master would that dream come true.

All his recent assignments had begun to run together : quell an uprising here, seek out a fugitive there, instill the fear of the Empire in yet someplace else. Much of it was politics, not leadership, in his eyes. If it didn't seem so illogical, he would have said that Palpatine enjoyed the intrigue and secret maneuverings. If he really thought about it, it did seem that Palpatine, from Senator, to Chancellor, to Emperor, always seemed to play one side against the other, and then preside over the mess. Now with one hand the Emperor permitted the Chandrilan Senator Mon Mothma to speak in open defiance of the Empire , and with the other hand he built an increasingly powerful Imperial Navy that could crush such growing resistance.

And crank up the fire on the great Imperial war machine Palpatine did. The naval fleet was expanding, the new class Star Destroyers, ten times the length of the current class, were advancing in the design phase, and Governor Tarkin's Great Weapon project continued with generous governmental support. The demands for metals required by these construction projects led the Empire to search for raw materials in increasingly creative ways. Thus, Vader found himself back on Tatooine, chasing down two year old leads on a high grade doonium find.

Kel Wezla had come across the rumored Lost Sundarian Planetoid legend during his surveillance to discover the truth about missing Exargan ore . According to the tale, Run Vangermes, a native of Sundaria, was a small time prospector who began paying his cantina tab with pebbles of almost pure doonium. His tongue loosened by drink, he confessed one night that he had stumbled across a planetoid in uncharted space on which doonium nuggets were scattered on the surface. He left a marker buoy in orbit to help him find the planetoid again, and kept his jump routes secret, though many tried to follow him. He was finally killed in Mos Eisley by other spacers who tried to extract the planetoid's location from him.

In the time since Vangermes' death, other fortune seekers had determined the first few jumps from landmark systems that Vangermes described, but the planetoid with the buoy marker, and its potential fortune in doonium had never been located. While the planetoid had never been found, the existence of the high grade doonium Vangermes presented was undisputed. Somewhere in the uncharted regions of Wild Space, in the area beyond Lamaredd, the resources to build the Super Star Destroyers lay waiting. Darth Vader was assigned to lead a scientific ship into the unknown, and claim the planetoid in the name of the Empire.

------

The Imperial mining frigate _Distant Star_ entered hyperspace, making the jump from Tatooine to Lamaredd, the most distant Outer Rim system charted on Galactic maps. Inside, the geological crew were double checking their sensor and analysis equipment. The senior geologist of the pair was not very senior at all. Zhan Rion had earned his doctorate from the Imperial Institute of Technology only a few years before. His family had opposed him joining the Imperial Forces, but it seemed to him a good way to pay for his education, and he had not regretted his choice.

"So, what do you think of our commanding officer?" asked Zhan's coworker, Spir Tazny, who had been two classes back at Imperial Tech. For emphasis, Spir cupped his hand over his mouth and made loud breathing noises.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to make fun of the disabled ?" Zhan chastised."Besides, maybe he's nonhuman. I think your Imperial bias is showing."

"Highly unlikely," countered Spir."How many nonhumans have you seen in the Imperial Forces, especially at the command level?"

"Well, I've certainly had worse. At least his meetings don't go on for hours. I can deal with him," Zhan said.

Spir was not done aggravating his supervisor. "So how do you think we're going to find this Lost Sundarian Planetoid ? After Lamaredd, we have two, maybe three, marked jumps. Then we, what, cross our fingers ?"

Zhan shook his head."I'm sure they have it all planned out. The Empire isn't known for flying by the seat of its pants. Anyways, didn't you get into geology with the hopes of making discoveries, exploring planets, understanding the origins of the universe ?"

Spir laughed."I got into geology with the hopes of working in the Corporate Sector and making the choice credits."

"That's where you and I differ," Zhan said." I'm looking forward to expanding the known edge of the Galaxy."

------

Darth Vader leaned over the dining table in the mess hall that doubled as a briefing room on board the _Distant Star_. The four men who comprised the navigation crew leaned as far back in their chairs as gravity permitted in an effort to maintain distance from the looming black figure.

Vader's tone was even deeper and more unyielding than usual."You are all aware that we are heading into uncharted space, and that there is great danger involved. If you follow my commands precisely, we will all come through this alive. We may not find the planet we are after, but we will be safe. Disobey me, and we may all end up as particles floating through the Galaxy. Is there a man among you who does not think he can follow my orders exactly ?"

"Sir," began Ensign Draig,"you will tell us when to come out of lightspeed ?" His voice carried the uncertainty that the whole group felt.

"I will tell you _exactly_ when to exit hyperspace. Can you do this ?"

Four heads nodded in unison.

"Good." Vader's voice softened a bit. "Let's get to work."

------

The _Distant Star_ was a large vessel, but most of its bulk was occupied by its enormous cargo hold, meant to transport quanties of ore, and the equipment needed to extract that ore. The crew compartment was relatively small, leading to a minimizing of the usual barrier between commanders and crew on Imperial ships. That may have contributed to most of the crew being near the bridge when the first jumps into Wild Space began, but more likely it was because they all shared the same apprehension about where they were going.

The first jump from Lamaredd had been accomplished by several prospectors at Mos Eisley, so when the _Distant Star_ exited hyperspace uneventfully, the coordinates were charted, and the known area of space was extended further. The second jump proceeded much as the first, ending in the perimeter of a system with a dwarf sun and five planets, the location of which was also duly noted.

The third jump was the problematic one. Those who had forced Vangermes to reveal the location of his find had tried to follow his directions, but never returned from their search. The next wave of fortune seekers were divided between those who lost their courage before entering jump three, and those that lost communications after jump three. Perhaps the coordinates were written incorrectly, or perhaps the Sundarian had exacted his revenge on those who had murdered him, but either way the location of the planetoid remained Vangermes' secret.

Darth Vader instructed his navigators on how to proceed with the third jump. "Enter the coordinates for the next jump, but put the ship on manual control. Tell me when we have attained the coordinates, but only exit hyperspace on my command. Is that clear ?"

The navigators affirmed their understanding. "Aye, sir."

"Then take us to lightspeed," Vader commanded.

Through the viewing windows, the star fields went first to starlines, then began a clockwise rotation that took on a swirled appearance.

"How long shiptime before we reach the set coordinates ?" Vader asked.

"Two point three standard hours, sir," replied Ensign Draig.

"Then alert me point seven hours before we arrive," Vader said before leaving the bridge.

------

Nervousness among the crew began to increase as the time approached to leave hyperspace. Even the scientific crew gathered in the corridor near the bridge, waiting to see if they, and the _Distant Star_, were to be part of the fleet claimed by the flaw in Vangermes' instructions.

The heavy footsteps of Darth Vader parted the crowd as he approached the bridge, but it quickly reformed behind him. He walked to the front viewing windows of the _Distant Star_, then swung around to stare briefly at the silent crowd.

When he did speak, it was only to the navigators. "Tell me when we have arrived at the coordinates, then await my command."

Vader moved dead center to the window, spread his feet wide apart as if bracing himself, and folded his arms across his chest.In front of him, the starlines swirled in their same inscrutable pattern.

Time passed, but Vader said nothing more, and did not change position. The navigators glanced nervously at each other, but maintained the silence, as did the crew gathered at the back of the bridge, who dared not even whisper among themselves. The _Distant Star_ continued hurtling through hyperspace, the passage of time marked by the eerie metronome of Vader's breaths.

"Coordinates attained," said Ensign Draig, but Vader gave no sign of acknowledgement. The navigators remained fixated on their instruments, poised to bring the ship into normal space.

Spir Tazny's voice broke the silence before Vader's did. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Vader shot one black gloved hand into the air, but did not turn to answer.

Tazny's fear had grabbed hold of him, and would not turn loose. "We're all going to die!" he shouted.

"Silence that man and get him off the bridge! " Vader ordered, without turning from the starlines.

Zhan took hold of Spir's arm and shoved him through the crowd into the corridor. "You're the one who's going to get us killed. You can't break rank and take on the CO like that. What's wrong with you ?"

Spir slumped against the corridor wall, eyes closed, breathing rapidly, but didn't reply.

The ship gave a small shudder. "See, we just exited hyperspace. Nothing happened, not even a bobble," Zhan said. "I'm going to have the med droid give you some Taldol, and let you sleep it off in your bunk."

------

After depositing the Taldol sedated Tazny in his quarters, Zhan made his way to the metallurgical analysis lab. Spir would sleep for a few hours, and his anxiety should be diminished when he awoke. Zhan hoped so for Spir's sake ; it sometimes took only a single negative report to get a geologist permanently stationed planetside on some dreary quarry of a world.

Zhan decided to make another attempt at fixing the erractically operating thermal analysis sensor. He looked at the battered casing on the device, and could only shake his head. If he had one complaint about the Empire, it was that it would spend untold fortunes on new Star Destroyers, but wouldn't spring for new scientific equipment. With a sigh, he picked up his tools, and began removing the casing from the device.

In the background he could hear the mechanical ventilator that foretold the arrival of Darth Vader. _With luck_, Zhan thought, _he'll keep right on going_.

Zhan turned when he realized that not only had Vader not passed the lab, but that he had walked into it.

"I apologize for the conduct of my colleague," Zhan said, trying to lessen Spir's punishment by beating Vader to the punch. "I hope you can forgive him. He's young, hasn't been on many missions yet. But he's really smart. He'll do a good job for you."

"Age is no excuse, Doctor. He's hardly any younger than we are," Vader said."Make sure that it doesn't happen again. Distracting me at a critical time like that could have been a fatal error."

"Absolutely, sir. I've had him treated by the medic. He'll perform without fail," Zhan said, trying to contain his astonishment at Vader's statement. Of all the things he had guessed might be inside the black suit, none of them had been a peer.

"What are you working on ?" Vader asked.

"Uh, this pulse thermal sensor is a little unreliable. I can work without it, but it'd be nice to have if we do find our mystery planetoid."

"Let me see it," Vader ordered.

Zhan stepped aside, and thought, _whatever propels your speeder_. He hadn't ever had a CO express such personal interest in his work before.

Vader examined the sensor closely. He touched the input connections on one of the circuit boards, then handed the device back to Zhan. "I grew up fixing machines, and used to really enjoy it, but my fine dexterity is not what it once was. Try replacing the optical coupling on the flash generator. I think you'll find it's bad."

"Uh, thank you, sir," Zhan stumbled."I missed the exit from hyperspace. Did we find the system we're after ?"

"No marker buoy appears to be present in this system, but we are conducting a brief patrol to be certain," Vader said.

"How will we know where to go next ?"

"I will meditate with the Force for guidance."

"The Force," repeated Zhan."You mean like what the Jedi used ?"

"Not all Force users are Jedi," Vader said with a hint of anger, " but, yes, that same Force."

"Can you read my mind ?" Zhan asked with trepidation. Maybe he should have been guarding his thoughts more closely.

Vader snorted through his mask. "That's a myth. I can sense your feelings, broad thoughts, images, but not exact words."

"So how does the Force help you navigate ?" Zhan said, hoping Vader would sense he spoke to satisfy only his curiosity.

It had been a long time since anyone had asked Vader about the Force, since anyone had appreciated his powers. "The Force allows me to see the future. I see events before they happen."

"But it wasn't possible to see the route ahead of time ?"

"It's not that simple," Vader said. "I do have visions of the far future, but they are less detailed. The future is always in motion, swirling around multiple probabilities. The farther away an event is, the more difficult it is to see with certainty. When I fly, I see things before they happen, because the window is shorter. As an event approaches, one probability becomes a near certainty, and I see it."

"So when the ship was in hyperspace, you saw when it would be safe to exit ?" Zhan said.

"Yes, exactly," said Vader, pleased that Zhan had understood. "At the moment we passed the preset coordinates, I sensed death. I think we would have impacted something. When I could feel only that we would survive, I gave the order to return to normal space."

"But if we don't find anything in this system, we're going to have to make another jump ?"

"Yes, and if your subordinate is continuing to have difficulties with space travel, you need to keep him confined to his quarters. I will not allow another disruption on the bridge," Vader said.

"Yes, sir. I'll make sure he's 100 percent good to go," Zhan said.

------

Zhan Rion had almost finished installing the new optical coupling in the ancient thermal sensor when Spir walked slowly in to the metallurgical lab. "You doing OK, Spir ?"

"Feel like I got run over by a turbo tank, but otherwise I'm OK," Spir said. "Where are we ?"

"We're patrolling the system we landed in after the third jump. I think we'll be heading out on the next jump soon," Zhan said. "Can you handle it ?"

"I'll be all right. I guess embarrassment isn't a terminal condition, though I'm not sure I'll want to show my face on the bridge again."

"I spoke with the CO. You're OK this time, but I wouldn't cross him. I don't think he tolerates the same mistake twice," Zhan said.

"Don't worry," said Spir. "What are you working on, anyways ?"

"I'm testing this thermal sensor, now that it's all back together."

"That hunk of junk ? We tried fixing that a million times. It's beyond repair," Spir said.

"Our CO didn't think so," Zhan said.

"What does he know about pulse thermal analysis ?"

"All I can tell you is that he diagnosed the problem with this sensor just by touching it. No test equipment or anything, just touching it," Zhan said.

"How did he do that? " Spir said.

"He used the Force," Zhan said with a smile.

"The Force, you mean what the Jedi used ?"

"That's what I said, but don't say it to him; it makes him mad," Zhan said. "He's also using it to navigate the ship."

"Ugh, maybe I don't feel so good afterall. Whoever heard of that ?"

"I don't know, but he's dead serious on the subject. We did arrive all in one piece. And this sensor does appear to be working correctly now. I don't which of the two is the greater miracle."

"You know, that bonus for accepting an assignment in uncharted space sounded really good when I signed the contract," Spir said, "but they never mentioned this Force mumbo-jumbo."

------

Darth Vader loved the Force. He was never more at peace than when he felt it fill his mind and body, aiding him, guiding him. The Force had been his constant companion for as long as he could remember, even when he only knew the sensation, but not what it was, or how to use it. He pitied those who did not have Force sensitivity, did not understand how they could live without the Force's touch surrounding them.

He did miss the brotherhood of the Jedi, even if he did not miss the organization itself. He missed the comradery that came of saying "I feel a disturbance in the Force", and having that perception echoed by another. Visible proof of the Force was easily demonstrated by the simple levitation of objects, but it was the subtle glimmerings of future events and emotional waves that were more difficult to capture, making a concurring perception reassuring. He could discuss the Force with Palpatine, but such conversations were infused with the tension of oneupmanship and competition. There was no philosopher in Palpatine.

So now, as he concentrated on finding the small space buoy that marked the location of the Lost Planetoid, he immersed himself in the Force, going where others might drown.For some Jedi, finding the connection to the Force had taken great effort, and it had remained an elusive presence in their lives. For him, it was life, as consistent a sense as sight or touch.It was maybe a petty usage of the Force to find some planetoid in the name of the Empire, but who else could reach into the void of uncharted space, and return with a pathway ? He was afterall, the Chosen One.

When the Force whispered to him the location of the buoy, he had no hesitation. The Force had never lied to him, never betrayed him, never let him down.

He felt drowsy, almost intoxicated, still by his meditation with the Force. On board military vessels, he always waited until he was completely recovered before venturing out of his quarters, lest anyone mistake his slowness for weakness. But here, with his own crew, he felt no need to hide himself, to protect himself.

He wished he could keep his contact with the Force as strong in the awake state as it was in the meditative state, but the more conscious intent he used, the more the Force receded. In the slow state, it was so simple to read the crew members as they passed him in the ship's corridors. He felt them shrink back from his approach, an effect he sometimes relished, and other times just found to be tiresome. But beyond that expected response, in many of them he felt hope. Hope directed at him. Hope that he would have the answer to deliver them to their destination and home again. They were counting on him, and he enjoyed the feeling.

On the bridge, he found the familiar face of Ensign Draig. Even in Draig, who, like the other navigators, had struggled to maintain physical distance from him during the briefing, he sensed anticipation. Draig had gone from fear to faith that he would lead them in the right direction.

Vader stepped to the navigation console and entered a set of coordinates. He closed his eyes, and verified the setting matched his vision. As the crew put their faith in him, he put his faith in the Force.

"Ensign Draig, we're going to handle this much like the last jump," Vader said. "Target is these coordinates, ship on manual control, and alert me before we reach the coordinates."

"Yes, sir ."

Vader assumed his meditative stance near the viewing windows of the bridge. This time he felt certain of their destination, but he still waited for the approach to confirm the safety of the exit point. No premonition of death entered his mind as the coordinates neared, and he gave the command to exit hyperspace. The ship gave the usual shudder upon entry to normal space. In the viewing windows, a system lay straight ahead. He smiled within his helmet; the Force was never wrong.

"Scan all frequencies for signal transmissions," he said.

The bridge was not packed as it had been at the first uncharted jump, but a few crew spectators had assembled, including Spir Tazny. Vader observed Tazny, noting with satisfaction that Tazny was holding himself together. Some Imperial recruits never adapted to the rigors of space travel.

"Simple repeating signal detected, non-military code type," a technician announced.

"Take us to the signal source," Vader said. " Dr. Tazny, I assume you and Dr. Rion have your gear packed. Prepare to suit up- I think you're about to go planetside."

------

Spir Tazny was sweating as he hefted another piece of equipment into the hold of the mining shuttle. "I wish droids hadn't fallen in disfavor after the Clone Wars. I could use one about now to load all this stuff."

Zhan nodded. "In a perfect world, we'd be sending droids down to the surface to collect samples, not us. That was the whole point of droids. I guess if one boozy old prospector from Tatooine could make it there and back, it can't be that hostile down there."

"We've got gravity and a thin atmosphere, what more do you want ? Besides you're the one who said you wanted an adventure."

"Truth is, I never thought we'd find this planetoid. Thought we'd just tour some new systems, but I didn't think my boots would actually be touching the dirt," Zhan said.

"Dirt. The profs at Imperial Tech would slap you for using that word," Spir said."This'll be the first time since school that I've put on a space suit."

"Yeah, it's like riding a swoop bike. It'll all come back to you as soon as you put it on. Or you could ask our CO to give you a lesson."

"I'll tell him you said that," Spir said. "You know, I was up on the bridge again for the last jump. I'm a man of science, and I have no idea what he's doing, but it ain't luck. There's got to be something to that Force business."

"Come on Jedi-boy. Let's get our highly educated scientific butts down to the surface."

------

With the geologists busy planetside excavating and loading ore samples, Darth Vader took the opportunity to rest before the _Distant Star_ made its return journey. Like all the ships he had been stationed on, this one had been retrofitted with a hyperbaric chamber in his quarters. While it was possible for him to make it through a mission without one, it wasn't very comfortable. As the Emperor's apprentice, he felt he deserved, at the very least, to sleep, eat, and bathe as much like a normal man as was possible.

Between the pressurized refresher and the pressurized bed chamber he had to cross a short distance in room air, and even that brief exertion left him winded.His breaths came short and fast, as his body struggled to oxygenate itself. He had developed a post 'fresher ritual where he sat down to catch his breath, and made use of the time by performing maintenance of his helmet. He picked up the inner helmet assembly, wiping down the outside first, paying special attention to the electronic connections, making sure they were immaculately clean.

By the time he had finished with the inner helmet, his breathing had slowed, and he could think again. He turned his attention to the outer helmet shell, exterior now facing him, to buff the surface back to its high gloss state. He caught a glimpse of himself reflected in the brilliant shine of the helmet, the only way he ever saw his own face. He had no mirrors in his private chambers.

He turned the helmet in the light, the gold of his fingers contrasting sharply with the gloss black of the helmet. His face became reflected in the depth of the shine, and he focused on the image. With one golden hand he felt of his left ear, the pinna shriveled, almost gone from fire. He watched his hand follow the scar from his ear across his left cheek, then up his forehead and over the massive scar ridge that ran down the back of his head. Would he be able to reveal himself to Luke, show him how the gleaming perfection of metal almost overcame the mangled reality of the flesh ? Or would there be no face he could show his son, save for the one of polished black ?

They would speak through the Force, his boy and himself. He would teach Luke to sense what lay beneath the surface, even if his child's eyes could not see past the horror of his physical self. In the pure, undeniable truth of the Force, Luke would know him as a man, as a father, not as a monster.

Truly, he did not understand how it was that one Force user taught another. It was like teaching someone to see, like explaining the color blue. One could give a technical explanation of the rods and cones of the eye, or how Angstrom length defined a color, but they were only words. A being could either see or not see, just as they were either sensitive to the Force, or not. But while it was not possible to know if two beings really saw an object in the same way, when two beings felt a ripple in the Force, they also felt the interconnectedness of life, and of themselves.

They would rise above the Forceless place that the Galaxy had become, the one that Palpatine had created after the destruction of the Jedi. The Force was no longer celebrated within the Empire, and Palpatine, despite the enormity of his Force skills, chose not to reveal them to his subjects, allowing only a private few to know. Vader saw no good reason to hide such gifts, and had finally decided that Palpatine wished for it to appear that his ability to forsee events and rule the Empire sprang entirely from his own native intelligence. For Palpatine, the Force was merely another tool at his disposal.

In Vader's Galaxy, it would be different. Force users would be the governing council. Those strongest with the Force, would occupy the high positions, sharing their prescience for the benefit of all. The Force would speak through them for the many who could not hear its voice. It would be neither a hidden skulking order like the Sith, nor a restrictive rule-bound organization like the Jedi. All aspects of the Force would be studied, and passion would be encouraged. A life of fulfillment, not a life of denial.

He would train his son in the ways of the Force, and together they would rule the Galaxy fairly and justly. They would establish a new era of stability, not the endless cycle of chaos and conflict that Palpatine's rule had brought. The Republic had stood for a thousand generations, but Palpatine's rule had become troubled in less than a decade. As the Chosen One surely he was meant to restore the Force to a position of respect and glory, to create a new dynasty to last another thousand generations.

It was time to reclaim his son, time to meet his destiny. Only one man stood in his way.


	9. The Chosen One

**Chapter 9 : The Chosen One **

"You have done well, Lord Vader," the Emperor said. " Analysis of the samples you brought back on the _Distant Star_ proves it to be the purest doonium find ever recorded. Governor Tarkin will be quite pleased."

"Yes, Master," Vader said. He had almost forgotten how much he had to guard himself to avoid revealing anything to Palpatine. Communicating by hologram was far preferable to standing in the same room as the Emperor. "Finding the route was only possible through use of the Force."

"Of course it was. Not so difficult, really," Palpatine said."Still, it will quite impress the Senate."

Palpatine's comments stung him_.The Force shows me things it does not show you, Master._ "What will we present to the Senate?"

"I'm going to need you to make another appearance, tell them of the great accomplishments the Empire has done for its citizenry.Governor Tarkin needs more credits, so we must convince the Senate to release funds from the Departments of System Exploration and Public Works towards the completion of his project. If his project were finished, it would make harvesting of materials from your newly found planetoid much easier. The Senate will have no choice but to vote funds for its support, " Palpatine said.

"But Tarkin's project is a weapon, not a mining tool, Master", Vader said.

"I sometimes despair that you will never be more than a Tatooine slaveboy," the Emperor said."Do you think that the Senate would vote to fund a superweapon ? Of, course they wouldn't. Things must be presented in a manner that they will understand."

"Isn't that misleading the Senate, Master ?"

"It is the absolute truth. Tarkin's project _can_ be used to break up dead planets and asteroids to facilitate the harvesting of materials. That it can be used for other purposes is quite beside the point. Too much information would be confusing to the Senate," Palpatine said.

_The truth. Like the truths you have told me ?_ "Yes, Master, you're right. Not everything need be revealed."

------

What a joy it was to be back amidst the Imperial Navy. As Darth Vader walked the corridors of the Star Destroyer he recognized that it had been more than a small adjustment returning from the _Distant Star_. The time among civilian Imperials had been a mental reprieve. Now he was back in the military limbo where his lack of formal position required him to jostle with the commanders to get his work accomplished. The protective alertness he had to maintain was a tiring thing, a habit it had been welcome to drop.

Then there was Palpatine. It was one thing to follow his command from the other side of the Galaxy, and quite another to be a lackey at his side. Palpatine's frequent verbal jabs were designed to either quell or incite his insurgency, he wasn't quite sure which. Additionally, the manner of the Emperor's rule had become increasingly difficult for Vader to stomach. The convoluted manueverings that took place instead of clear leadership. The half truths, semitruths, and outright lies. And Vader was part of that political machine, one of the coterie of seconds that surrounded Palpatine, each with their own separate use. At least, until that use was gone, and that person dropped off the edge of the Galaxy, like the long gone Mas Amedda and Sly Moore.

_It doesn't have to be this way._

The thought snuck past his defenses to the front of his mind. How clear his path of action seemed to be while on the _Distant Star_.So simple, so clear. Kill Palpatine, become leader of the Empire, rescue his son, restore the Force. Just a few steps to change the Galaxy.

But on board this Star Destroyer, in the proximity of the Emperor, it no longer felt so simple.

Without an ounce of wasted effort to give hint of the lethality that lurked within, Palpatine was like a coiled spit adder.The wizened exterior that made him seem more ancient that he really was revealed nothing of the boundless power that waited patiently to be unleashed. But Vader had seen with his own eyes the fury of the Force lightning that Palpatine had sent forth into the body of Mace Windu. He knew from personal experience the pain of Force lightning, but what he had received from the hands of Dooku had been nothing compared to what had been dealt to Windu. The Force lightning that Palpatine sent into Windu glowed so hot that Windu's skull had been briefly visible through his flesh. Even when Palpatine appeared unarmed, he carried death in his fingertips.

Vader found that while his mind had caution, his body had fear. The organic portion of himself remembered the pain and darkness of Mustafar, how close he had come to dying. Now, even when his mind said "Go", his body shrank back, reluctant to risk itself again, preferring to live. To support its case, it flung flashbacks of agony to his mind.

He needed to meditate, to focus himself, to find that strength of connection with the Force that he had found in Wild Space. This particular Star Destroyer had no hyperbaric chamber in his quarters, but it would still afford him privacy.

Inside his cabin he removed the armored cloak that so defined his visual presence.He sat back in the chair, hands interlaced, index fingers resting on his mask at the level of his lips.He exhaled as deeply as he could, closed his eyes, reached for the sustaining embrace of the Force. He felt himself slip away towards the trance like state, drifting. The Force surrounded him, and he strained to see what it might show him.

_Wmpff !_ Like a blast door closing he felt a blocking presence in his head. Palpatine. The Emperor's mental cloak limited Vader's ability to see the future, much as it done against the Jedi. He stopped pushing the barrier, not wanting to cause ripples in the Force that Palpatine would sense.

His frustration made him feel like a caged Ralltiir tiger aboard this Star Destroyer, with nowhere to go, no place to escape Palpatine's presence, no task to bury himself in. If meditation could not provide the focus he sought, then perhaps exertion would accomplish it. He grabbed a bag of training remotes off of one of the cabin's built in shelves.

He redonned his cloak, running a hand down his lightsaber as he did so. His familiar weapon would be of no use against Palpatine.Even when whole, his reflexes wouldn't have been fast enough to overcome him. The time it took to thumb the lightsaber into action would be more than enough for the Emperor to generate the Force lightening that would kill him. No, to achieve the death of the Emperor would require use of his unique skill, the one that already gave the Emperor pause : the use of the Force within the body of another. He would have to surreptitiously block the air from Palpatine's lungs, bringing him to unconsciousness before finishing the deed.

Dangerous thoughts these were. He paused before exiting his room, making sure his mental cloak was securely in place.

Heading towards the ship's gymnasium he passed by the quarters where stormtroopers were housed separately from the rest of the crew. Long ago, when they were the original clone troopers, he had found such comfort in their company, in the clarity of their purpose and intent. Comfort in their reliability, in their consistency, in their courage, and in their honor. He felt to be a better man when in their presence, whether from their conduct, or from the thoughts they exuded, he wasn't sure.

But that was long ago, and now the stormtroopers were a hodge-podge of cloned templates and recruits that would have looked like a kaleidoscope, had it not been for the white armored uniforms. They were still better disciplined than the rest of the Imperial services,though, without the penchant for insolence found in the higher ranks.They would follow his command without hesitation, until a more senior officer of the Empire contradicted him. If he killed the Emperor, and assumed that mantle, would they follow him without question ? To whom was their allegience pledged ?

He had not thought through the consequences of assassination. While he pondered how to accomplish the death of Palpatine, the real danger might lay in what came after. Would the Imperial Forces acknowledge the natural order among the Sith, nod and accept his right to take Palpatine's place ? Or would the headless body of the Empire rise up to oppose him?

He stepped into the ship's exercise complex, halting conversations as he did so. He ignored the furtive stares that came from lowered heads, the open mouthed glances, equal parts curiosity and fear. At least these men would offer no resistance.

He moved to the open space of the sport court, the cushioned surface dampening the sound of his boots. The group of servicemen playing shockball halted their game. "Get out," he said, and they complied.

He knelt down to set the bag of remotes on the floor, pulling them out one at a time to activate them, setting them all to the highest speed. Their stings, if any found their mark, would not even singe his armor, but they would work as targets.

He closed his eyes, sensing the five remotes hovering around him.He unclipped his lightsaber from his belt, activated it, and awaited the commencement of firing by the remotes.

As he swept the arc of the lightsaber in time to meet each shot from the remotes, he surrendered his conscious control. While his body moved swiftly to counter the fire of the remotes, his mind became smooth and tranquil. He did not attempt to see forward through the Force, knowing already the clouding effect Palpatine exerted there.

He would have to accomplish his attack in the same way, in the moment,in the now, not focusing on a future that Palpatine might detect.Unless Palpatine had already forseen his intentions. The thought interrupted his concentration, and he felt a barrage of hits from the remotes, soft, like raindrops, against his armor. He switched each remote off with his mind, and they bounced lightly as they hit the cushioned floor.

Palpatine was such an omniscient opponent. Everything was always going as he had forseen. Was it even possible to take an action that he had not already glimpsed through the Force ? Without the element of surprise, he knew he could not succeed against the Emperor. His confidence shrank.

He hated that Palpatine made him feel afraid.

He reactivated the remotes, and they sprung off the floor in a buzz. This time as he took aim against the remotes his mind was not calm, but filled with anger. With each strike of his lightsaber he battled back against his fear .His parries increased in speed as he raged against his own inaction in confronting Palpatine. Palpatine who had lied to him about having the power to stop death, about Padme's end, about his son. At each instance he should have challenged Palpatine about his deceit, held him accountable, but instead he had done nothing. Because he was afraid, afraid to fail again, afraid to die. Whatever travesty his life had become, he still clutched at it preciously.

The existence of Luke had restored his drive to live. His earliest Force vision of his child had helped through the dark times, to look forward when his mind so often had fixated in the past. He thought, he focused, he planned around finding his child. When he finally saw Luke, real, and beautiful, and full of the Force, he dreamt. He dreamt of a future in which he and his son would rule the Galaxy, bringing fairness and peace to its inhabitants.

The Empire would stand behind him, because just as surely as Palpatine had lied to him, he had lied to the Empire. He promised peace, and delivered war. He called his rule the New Order, but it was really the old chaos. He worked to maintain his own power, not be a leader to the Galaxy.He forsaw the future, but kept it for himself.

Vader's rule would be different, and the people would follow him; he felt it. No matter how fearful of him they might be at first, they would grow to respect him, just as the crew of the _Distant Star_ had done. They would come to count on him.Yes, he would be the guardian of the Empire that Palpatine had called him so long ago.

All these things he wanted, for himself, for his son, for the Galaxy. But the man who stood in his way was a far stronger opponent than Obi-Wan could ever have been, while his own physical powers and agility had waned since Mustafar.He stood no chance of defeating Palpatine in open battle. His stumps throbbed in agreement, a sensation he had thought long gone.

If he did not confront Palpatine, he still failed, and not just himself. Inaction would fail the Empire, stop the will of the Force, and keep Luke from ever knowing his father, or of his mother.There was no one else who could stop Palpatine but the Chosen One.

The situation tormented him. It was a puzzle he could not solve. Leaving things as they were was the wrong path, but he could not stop doubting his ability to overcome Palpatine. He channeled his frustration at the remotes, and he watched each one explode in a burst of dazzling light.

He stood for a moment, breathing heavily from exertion. He turned to see men lined against the back wall of the sport court, watching him. He felt of their minds; the balance had tipped towards curiosity, and away from fear. Yes, they would follow, just like on the _Distant Star_. It must be done; the Galaxy was waiting.

------

Vader approached the Emperor's private office. The Imperial guards did not move as he came closer to the door, indicating Palpatine would allow his entry. Inside the chamber Palpatine was seated in his usual chair facing the expanse of space outside the viewing window. The Emperor did not greet him, but remained in intense concentration over a handheld document reader.

Vader slid quietly into a side chair, trying to see what held Palpatine's focus. He had to use the zoom function on his helmet to read the title of the document. _The Collected Works of Hari Seldon._ Vader had not heard of the volume, but based on how engrossed Palpatine was in the document, its information must be extremely valuable.

He turned his gaze to Palpatine's face, looking for any clue as to his state of mind. Not that the Emperor ever revealed much, but he was more likely to show a microexpression on his face than to relax even for a moment the cloak that covered his mind. He knew that he was registering somewhere in Palpatine's consciousness, but the Emperor was not to be distracted from his task.

He turned his attention away from Palpatine and inward to himself. He closed his eyes, let his ventilator take over full auto control, and made his mind very quiet. What he was about to do would require the finest control of the Force that he had ever attempted. He would have to summon its power while simultaneously smoothing its surface so that no ripples would be created for Palpatine to detect. He had never encountered a Force user more skilled at reading others than Palpatine. He was not entirely sure he could keep his thoughts hidden while he engaged the Force in action.

Very slowly he used the Force to constrict the Emperor's airways. He held them in a restricted state for a moment, trying to sense any surprise or dismay from the Emperor.Feeling nothing, he tightened his grip slightly.

The Emperor coughed, startling him and causing him to lose his concentration, and hence his grip on the Emperor. He doubled his efforts at cloaking his intent, and worked to steady his nerves.

"Do you think there is something wrong with the circulation in this room, Lord Vader ? Your ventilator seems to be triggering rather frequently," the Emperor said,as he cleared his own throat.

"I will have it checked, my Master. I had been unaware," Vader said. He wasn't doing a very good job controlling himself; his own tension had unconsciously increased his respiratory rate. He must refocus. _I will never be able to raise Luke unless Palpatine is gone. Palpatine deserves to die for all the lies he has told me. He twists the will of the Force for his own use. I am the Chosen One of the Force._

Vader swallowed and began the process again, starting at an even smaller level. Carefully he called to the midi-chlorians in Palpatine's body, feeling how easily they responded to him. First he closed down the smallest alveoli in the Emperor's lungs, then continued upward to the larger structures.

The Emperor yawned. "Really now, Lord Vader, I think there's something wrong with the air exchange in this room."

"I'll have it checked immediately," Vader said, with uncharacteristic softness.

He closed the fingers of his left hand and constricted the bronchioles of Palpatine's lungs. He needed Palpatine to lose consciousness so that he could finish the deed without the Emperor summoning help. He tightened his hand into a fist, blocking the airways more completely still. Soon lack of air would bring the Emperor down.

Suddenly Palpatine spun from his seat, trying to gulp in air, but to no avail.He clutched at his throat, his yellow eyes bulging madly. Vader prepared to stop Palpatine's heart, to deal the final blow. _All too easy._

Vader heard a loud crack that echoed in his jaw, then felt excrutiating pain in his neck. He winced inside his helmet, then the pain was gone, replaced by numbness. His concentration failed and his grip on the Emperor was released.

Great heaving gasps came from Palpatine as his body fought to restore itself.With one arm he braced himself on his chair, doubled over while he panted for air.

Vader felt increasingly distressed as he realized he could not move his limbs. His ventilator kicked into automatic mode, not being triggered by voluntary breaths. His weight shifted, causing his chair to whirl from underneath him, and he slid to the deck, paralyzed.

He looked up to see Palpatine standing over him, his face contorted with rage. Searing fury blasted from the Emperor's eyes.

"How dare you !" Palpatine roared. "How dare you try to kill me ! You think that you are more clever than I ? You ignorant fool. Your skills are no match for mine."

Palpatine was frothing now. Droplets of spittle hit the lenses of his mask.

Vader lay still on the floor, having no choice to do otherwise. The Emperor must have perfected the skill of manipulating the midi-chlorians within the body of another, as the crack he had heard could only have been the sound of his neck breaking.

Above him, Palpatine was still ranting. "You are the first of my apprentices to try to kill me. You think I am unaware that in Sith tradition the apprentice eventually takes the place of the master ? That is one tradition I intend to change. Except for those apprentices killed by others, I have disposed of my aides when they ceased to be of use to me.

"You, you would kill me ? And what, think that you could become Emperor yourself ? For all your Force talent, you are young and inexperienced in the ways of politics. The Imperial Senate would not accept you. You could not hold the Empire together."

The Emperor's indignation could not be tempered. The venom in his voice still issued forward at full toxicity. "You don't even know who you are. You, who is without a father, without even a shadowy name to hang paternity on."

Always the softest spots he went for, always the tenderest areas. Vader awaited the death blow he knew was coming, be it physical or psychological.

"Do you remember when I told you the legend of Darth Plagueis ?" Palpatine's voice was suddenly soft, the storytelling voice."You recall that Darth Plagueis could influence the midi-chlorians to create life. Now of course he used this skill to save people from dying; we've already discussed that. But did you ever think that skill could be used in other, more literal, ways ?

"Darth Plagueis decided to use this skill to create an apprentice who was extraordinarily gifted with the Force. Now, he already had an apprentice who was extremely Force talented, but apparently he wanted another.

"He went to a remote planet, found a slave woman, and summoned the midi-chlorians to create life within her. Is any of this sounding familiar ? Now of course, he was never able to see the outcome of his project, because his talented apprentice killed him in his sleep, as I told you before. Fortunately, the apprentice took up watching over the child.

"That's why I always had to suppress a laugh whenever I heard the Jedi call you "the Chosen One". Little did they know, but that their "Chosen One" was a Sith creation. I do love irony.

"Now as I'm sure you have figured out, your neck is broken. When we arrive at Imperial City, you will be taken to the medical center that was your place of reconstruction, and I will decide whether or not you shall have surgery to repair your neck.I like having you around, though, you who was bred to be my replacement. Having you as my apprentice reminds me that no man will ever best me. Undamaged, you would have grown more powerful than me, but destiny eliminated that possibility.So you think about your predicament a little, and I'll think about restoring your mobility. Again."

Darth Vader could do nothing but lay awkwardly on the deck floor. He had known he risked grave injury, or even death, in his assassination attempt, but he never imagined ending up in such a helpless condition. As always, no matter how well the Force let him see the future of others, it never revealed to him his own future.

He could hear Palpatine addressing the Imperial Guards. "Bring the medical droid- Lord Vader has had an accident."

Failure. It was to be his hallmark. Always he failed those most important to him, his mother, his wife, now maybe his son.

Palpatine's revelation rung in his ears. What else could be expected of someone who was an experimental creation, a mere tool for others ? The path of the Chosen One had not been his to claim. From his days as a slave on Tatooine, he had not improved his circumstances much, especially as far as controlling his own destiny.

He could not move his limbs, but he could still feel the familiar texture of the leather suit against his body. The suit had transformed from prison to trusted companion, as it sustained his life when he could do nothing to help himself.

He had never felt so alone. Not a being in the Galaxy would step forward to champion his cause, save for Palpatine, who dangled his life in front of him like a bone before Tusken massiffs. He felt as though even the Force had turned away from him. But even as the Galaxy abandoned him, he would not abandon Luke. He had not failed him yet; Luke remained safely hidden on Tatooine.He would not give up the dream that someday he and his son would stand together.

As he lay waiting for the whim of the Emperor to swing towards repairing his injuries, he broadened his vow to Luke. _I will mercifully take your life before I ever let you feel the shame of being Palpatine's servant_.


	10. To Serve the Empire

**Chapter 10 : To Serve the Empire **

Darth Vader walked out of the Emperor Palpatine Surgical Reconstruction Center, intending to fly his speeder back to his apartment in Imperial City. It would seem to be a simple thing, walking, but he no longer took it for granted, having just completed several weeks of physical therapy to regain that ability. Following surgery to repair his fractured neck, he had to retrain his nervous system to communicate with his prosthetic limbs, again, and had worked to regain voluntary respiratory control as well.Synthetic vertebrae had been added to the list of things within himself that were not himself. His two stays in the rehab center had left him with the desire to never see its pale green walls again.

He also no longer took for granted that he was the Chosen One.Gone was the unswerving sense of destiny that had carried him through the hard decisions in his life. Recovery from spinal surgery had given him plenty of time to think over Palpatine's tale of his origin. A lie. The truth. He had not been able to decide which, but he had concluded that he must be fighting the will of the Force. Nothing else would explain his catastrophic defeats at the hands of Obi-Wan and Palpatine. He doubted he would survive a third error in judgement on his part.

Though he might dream of being Emperor, of ruling the Galaxy with his son at his side, it appeared the Force did not flow in that direction. He would stop trying to create his own future, and accept his destiny, bring what it may. He had been born a slave, and if Palpatine was to be believed, had been designed for that role as a Sith manipulated conceptus, meant to be a Force gifted apprentice, but never a master. He could not deny that his efforts to put himself in a ruling position had brought only disastrous consequences.

Much as he could resign himself to awaiting the destiny the Force meant for him, he had difficulty letting go of his dreams for Luke. He would not bring him out of hiding to become another prize for Palpatine, but he could also not bear to think of him wasting his life away as a moisture farmer in the barrens of Tatooine. The Force shone too brightly in the boy to let such gifts go to waste. Maybe next year he would be stronger, maybe next year the Force would show him how to rescue Luke. Maybe next year.

------

Today was a good day. Darth Vader was returning to duty, and the Emperor Palpatine found he was eager to see him.

From his office in his private residence, Palpatine gazed out upon the Imperial City skyline. He had constructed the office so that it was possible to watch both the expansive window and the entry door at the same time, allowing him to sit in the position of power without denying himself the pleasure of the horizon. As he awaited Vader's arrival, his mood became increasingly triumphant. The weight of nearly twenty years of doubt and tension had lifted from his mind. The Chosen One was vanquished.

He should have killed him in the beginning, that hated child that Plagueis had designed. He had killed Plagueis over the matter, when he learned of his master's treacherous plan to replace him. He had suffered much, given up much, to achieve the position of Plagueis' apprentice, and he would not be discarded like so much garbage. But the project fascinated him, and he could not deny that it was a remarkable achievement to create a child with the power of the Force.

He had allowed the child to be born, knowing he could halt the experiment any time he wished. A supernatural glow of the Force enveloped the boy from the beginning, more than Palpatine had ever encountered in a being. It vexed him, the idea that the boy could grow to be more powerful than himself. Still, it was only a child, and who would be afraid of a child ? It was intolerable to him to think that he would back down from a challenge, and so he had let the boy be, and watched him from afar.

Back then he entertained no thought of taking the boy as his own apprentice, as he had already invested considerable time and energy into raising his own protege, the Iridonian Darth Maul. Maul was a laundry list of Sith qualities : intense, focused, Force powerful, and as trustworthy as a Sith could be expected to be. With Maul nearly fully trained, he had no need to take the evidence of Plagueis' disloyalty under his wing.

He would have left the boy, Force talented, but untrained, in the forgotten town of Mos Espa, but for the unfortunate arrival of Qui-Gon Jinn on Tatooine. Only a renegade like Jinn would have ever considered training a child as old as Anakin in the ways of the Jedi. He cursed himself for dismissing this possibility; how could he have not forseen this event ? The Chosen One, Jinn declared the boy, and took him under his guidance.

Even though Palpatine knew the boy's origin to be of Plagueis' design, there was no denying that the child had not been conceived in the usual way, that he was a product of the Force. It pained him to think that the boy might hold special status, that he still could be the result of the will of the Force.

When the Jedi accepted the boy into their order, Palpatine knew he would have to turn Anakin to ensure his own survival.With training, doubtless the boy would become more powerful than himself, and that was simply unacceptable. From that day forward, his life was marred by a twinge of fear that he could not eliminate.

No matter how high he rose to power within the Republic, he could not rid himself of the nagging voice that asked him, "Will this boy be more powerful than you ?"

Even when the Republic fell, and he became Emperor, his doubt ate at him.

Even when the Jedi became no more, and the Sith resurfaced to victory after 1000 years, the voice mocked him.

Even when the boy knelt at his feet, and pledged his loyalty, he wondered if he could control him.

He had shepherded the boy most of his life, knew how strongly the Force was with him, but that had not prepared him for the pipeline of Force energy that poured from Anakin, then overwhelmed by desperation and fear, as he made his choice to follow Palpatine.If the boy had not been so dangerous, he would have been a thing of beauty.

When he found Anakin butchered and burned on the rocks of Mustafar, he had been angry, _angry_ at Kenobi for once again taking something of value from him. But he had also been flooded with relief, because he knew that Anakin, reborn as Vader, would now never be able to reach his full potential.

When it all played out, and the reconstructed Darth Vader stood at his side, the voice had still not been silenced. He had been reasonably, but not completely, sure that he could control Vader in the wake of his injuries. Still, he knew a challenge would be forthcoming from Vader, both because it was the way of the Sith, and because Vader had proven to be more headstrong than he had known.

Now it was over. He had beaten his rival, his nemesis, his apprentice. Never again would he worry that he would be unable to defeat the Chosen One. The relief was so delicious, he laughed. He had been confirmed; the Galaxy had never known a stronger ruler. The name of Palpatine would be remembered across all time.

------

Darth Vader was surprised to find himself walking down the long corridor that lead to the main office of Palpatine's private residence. He was even more surprised that he walked unflanked by Imperial Guards. After nearly succeeding at killing the Emperor, he had thought Palpatine would have relegated him to "hologram only" status, rather than inviting him to a private meeting.

He hesitated a moment at the doorway, watching the face of his master. He had not seen Palpatine since the day he had tried to kill him.That day he had been filled with hate and outrage and promise, but that fire had been smothered by his own failure. Now when he looked at Palpatine, he felt nothing but despair. He was Darth Vader, who lived not once, but twice, by the grace of Palpatine's favor.

When he had received the summons to appear at Palpatine's residence, he didn't know what fate awaited him.Surely Palpatine would not have repaired him only to turn around and destroy him. A warning, a demotion, a punishment - all those scenarios had played through his mind, but he hadn't thought he'd be walking down that long hallway solo, like an old friend.

Palpatine looked up from his desk. "Ah, Lord Vader, please come in. I must say you are looking quite fit."

Vader saw that the Emperor's face bore its typical controlled expression of repose, rather than the contorted grimace of rage that had been present at their last encounter. Beneath that practiced mask of complete self-confidence, Vader sensed something different in the Emperor. Somehow, Palpatine seemed more relaxed, as if a great burden had been lifted.

It was such an odd feeling that it took Vader a moment to comprehend what he was sensing. He knitted his brow as he confirmed his perceptions. For the first time in his experience, the barrier across Palpatine's mind had cracked open, and Vader could feel inside.

He felt Palpatine's exaltation, his mad triumph, his rampant sense of superiority.The deeply furrowed face gave cover to a drunken celebration of domination and confidence. Not a trace of fear sullied the Emperor's mind as he faced the man who had almost killed him.

The subtlest of smiles flitted across Palpatine's face as he acknowledged the emotions he revealed to Vader.

He now understood. If Palpatine had danced atop the chest plate of his life support suit it would not have been a more effective display of victory than this mental revelation. Palpatine saw him as a beaten man, who would never again pose a threat to his master.

He couldn't argue with that assessment.Unless the Emperor weakened with infirmity or age, he held no edge over his master. He didn't have to like it, though. He stabbed a probe deeper into Palpatine's mind.

_No_, came the answer, and the barrier was once more impenetrable.

So many times he had wished that his masters did not fear him, that they would not place restrictions on him in their efforts to contain his power. Now as bitter bile rose in his throat at the thought of Palpatine's elation, he found that this was worse, to be considered harmless and of no concern. This must be the prelude to his demotion.

"The medics tell me you are well recovered from your...accident, Lord Vader," Palpatine said.

"Everything functions as it did before," he said. The subject of assassination would apparently not be broached.

"The Center does provide the finest medicine credits can buy," the Emperor said. "Tell me, Lord Vader, do you still think Chandrila presents a real threat to the Empire, beyond the chatterings of Senator Mothma ?"

He looked straight into Palpatine's yellow eyes. The Emperor rarely asked for his opinion; surely this was the set-up to a trap. "Yes, Master, I do."

"I've decided you may be right. I want you to take a platoon of the 501st along with agents from the Imperial Security Bureau into the Raioballu sector. There have been odd reports of commercial ships being unable to make orbit on some worlds because of hostile activity. I want you to find the truth of the matter."

"Yes, Master," he said. It appeared that Palpatine was willing to forgive his trespass.

"Lord Vader, there is one more thing," the Emperor said.

Or not.

"As a reminder of the outcome of the _incident_ a few weeks ago, you will kneel before me whenever we meet," Palpatine said.

Inside his helmet he closed his eyes. For a moment his anger threatened to grab hold of him, but he recalled his promise to accept his destiny. "As you wish, Master."

------

Being short of stature and wiry of frame, Special Agent Tsova of the Imperial Security Bureau was used to being towered over by stormtroopers. Standing in the shadow of Darth Vader upped that ante some, but Tsova had long ago consoled himself that what he lacked in physical presence was well compensated by his quick intellect.

"So, Lord Vader, you are the muscle on this mission ?" Tsova said.

"The 501st is your muscle. I'm here to track down the secret navy Chandrila is building," Vader replied.

"Conspiracy theorist, eh? That's usually the realm of my department. But do make sure that you keep the stormtroopers in line. Intelligence work is all about subtlety, which they are known to lack," Tsova said.

"The 501st is nothing if not disciplined. They keep themselves in line," Vader said.

"So what makes you think Chandrila is building a navy ? Mothma has quite a mouth on her, but the ISB has no information that it is any more than talk," Tsova said.

"More than two years ago I discovered Exarga was selling doonium ore to Chandrila on the black market," Vader said.

"Doonium ? The metal for ship hulls ? Why haven't I heard anything about this ? " Tsova said.

"Perhaps you should ask the Emperor himself.He decides what information will be shared," Vader said.

"That's a pretty significant fact to withhold from your own intelligence forces. How am I supposed to do my job without good information ?"

"Are you questioning the Emperor's wisdom ? "

"Um, no. Wouldn't dream of it. But obviously you think there's a connection between your discovery and our mission to Verkai," Tsova said.

"The Emperor believes there is a connection. He is rarely wrong about the future," Vader said.

"Well, he must have more information than I have. Complaints from commercial freighters that they are being chased out of orbit does demand investigation, but I could hardly draw any conclusions from that situation, " Tsova said.

"When we arrive at Verkai, it will all become clear, I am sure of it," Vader said.

------

To the casual eye the _Omega_ class freighter _Illusion_ looked like all the other vessels of its type, boxy and practical, the commercial draft beast of the shipping trade. That much of its cargo hold had been converted to house troops, or that the ship was property of the ISB was left unrevealed by its plain exterior. In the recesses of its hull, its battery of laser cannons remained hidden, as did the fact that the ship also carried Darth Vader and a platoon of the 501st.

To the commander of the Clone Wars vintage war frigate that stood guard in orbit over the planet Verkai, the _Illusion_ must have appeared ordinary as well. The ship bristled forwards towards the _Illusion_ when it exited hyperspace and attempted to approach Verkai.

"You are entering restricted space. Please identify yourself," came the message over the comlink.

Agent Tsova thought a minute before replying. "Send this message, Ensign. 'We are carrying supplies from Chandrila. It is necessary for us to deliver them planetside.'"

Tsova glanced at Darth Vader when a reply from the frigate was not forthcoming. "They weren't prepared for that response."

"That ship is old, but it is of Alderaanian design. That may be of significance," Vader said.

"Are you sure ? It doesn't carry any governmental insignia," Tsova replied.

"Spacecraft are a personal interest of mine. It may have been since sold, but that ship began life as Alderaanian property," Vader said.

The frigate in question finally sent a reply. "You are not on our schedule of supply ships. Please transmit your entry code."

"Code, eh ? I think we're on to something," Tsova said.

"We need to raise our shields," Vader said.

"That will tip our hand. Right now they're not sure about us," Tsova said.

"You would prefer that the ship take a direct hit ?" Vader said.

"They're too far away for an effective strike. We'll never get more clues from them if we don't act like civilians.Ensign, tell then we're trying to contact our consignor, that we weren't advised of needing a clearance code."

"If you don't want the ship damaged, the shields need to be raised now," Vader repeated.

In the bridge viewing window, the frigate was abruptly larger.

"Navigator- shields up !" Vader ordered. A flash of light brightened the bridge window as a laser cannon blow struck the _Illusion_.

"Good call. Combat instincts ?" Tsova asked.

"The Force," Vader answered."Gunner, return fire."

The _Illusion_ maneuvered sideways to reveal its banks of laser cannons. What had appeared to be a lumbering slorth became a roaring Rythii beast as the _Illusion_ directed blasts at the Alderaanian frigate. Outgunned, the frigate returned futile shots before disappearing into hyperspace.

"Not much of a fight," Tsova said. "I'm sure they're on their way home to report this little incident."

"Perhaps their ship was more valuable than what they left behind on the planet," Vader said.

"Lord Vader, the ship sent a coded signal to the planet surface before it entered hyperspace," the ensign said.

"Bring us closer to the signal destination. Have their been any transmissions from a planetary authority ?" Vader said.

"No, sir," the ensign replied.

"Then take us down to the planet surface.The solution to this puzzle is waiting there," Vader said.

------

Reina Neiff bit into her last slice of jasp, savoring the sweetness of the fruit. She closed her mouth around it to minimize how much juice ran down her hand. With the current embargo against Imperial traders, she didn't know when she might taste jasp again. Not that Verkai didn't have its own fruits, but it seemed that the exotic flavor of jasp was a symbol of everything her planet couldn't have, now that the Resistance had come to Verkai.

For her parents' generation, it made no difference that the Resistance controlled the import and export of products on Verkai. They had grown up in the time when Verkai had been isolated from the rest of the Galaxy, too far off the trade routes to be worth the bother. Only the wealthiest Verkains could afford the fares for passenger travel offplanet back then. For the older generation everything had returned to how it had always been.

When the Empire had come to power several years ago, Verkai had been given a regional governor to represent them, whereas they had no Senator under the Republic.The Empire had opened the Galaxy to Verkai, and the new generation of Verkains had embraced what the Empire had to offer : foods, customs, music, clothing.It felt like half of her friends had fled into the Core Worlds, fulfilling dreams not available to them on Verkai.

Reina had hoped to go, too, one day, but now that dream was buried. She had taken this job instead, working in the Resistance led factory, producing mechanical parts under their direction. They told her the skills she used here would be valuable throughout the Resistance, and that someday she might be moved to a Resistance plant on another world. So far, the job had given her only eye strain from reading countless digital x-ray scans. She wasn't sure what the parts would be used for, but she could spot a bad one, no problem.

She must have a few more minutes left on her lunch break, she thought. The sun felt so warm and luxurious on her skin. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the table. Her reverie was interrupted by a background drone that was growing louder. She peeked open one eye towards the source of the sound, and saw a spacecraft still high in the sky, but obviously descending.She frowned; that didn't make sense. They had just picked up a load from the factory, and there was no reason for the Resistance ship to be back so soon.

The drone grew to a roar as the ship approached the ground. Even Reina's untrained eye could tell that this ship was different from any she had seen before. She found it strange that her supervisor had not come on to the open field that paralleled the factory. Weren't the Resistance staff on the com announcing their arrival ?

When the ship touched ground, Reina found herself surrounded by not only her supervisor, Yan Kozur, but by several of her coworkers, all drawn by the unexpected sound and vibration. Yan looked at her quizzically, but she could only shrug her shoulders. They moved as a group onto the open field, to greet the Resistance leaders.

A small man was the first occupant off the ship, his clothing somehow different from the other Resistance members they had met, but then it could hardly be said that the Resistance was uniform. Reina had to surpress a laugh; the man was short, but he walked with the confident stride of a giant.

Yan stepped forward to distinguish himself. "Hi. We didn't expect you back so soon. That last load of parts was our total production for the month. We don't really have anything else to give you."

The small man appeared to consider that information for a moment. "Then why don't you show me what work you have in progress."

Yan frowned . The Resistance knew what they were building; they had provided all the plans and tooling for the parts. They had never been interested in anything but the finished product before. "Sure. Reina, the parts at your station are closest to completion. Come show them what you have."

Inside the factory, Reina handed the individual components one at a time to the short man, who had still not identified himself. While he considered them carefully, it struck Reina that he seemed unsure of what he was looking at. She didn't know what they were used for either, but at least she knew which end was up.With a smile, she turned the piece in his hand so that it was oriented correctly.

He looked up at her abruptly, but then returned the smile."These look quite satisfactory," he said."Can you show me the actual production line ?"

Yan nodded. "Of course. Come this way."

Reina watched the pair walk further into the factory. She wanted to sneak another look at the ship, to imagine for a moment what it would be like to walk on board and take off to another world, one more exciting than her own. Yan ought to busy for awhile; he'd never know if she took a few minutes before she went back to work.

She was almost outside the building when she heard an odd noise, like breathing, but much louder. A man-she guessed it was a man- wearing some sort of space suit was entering the front doors. Tall, imposing, all in black, she knew a stranger like that ought to frighten her, but, like jasp, he was so exotic, so obviously not of this world, that she was intrigued instead.

"My colleague, he came this way ?" the stranger asked.

She nodded. "They looked at the parts at my station first. Did you want to see them, too?"

"Yes. Show me," he said.

She led him to the components she had been x-raying before lunch.When he picked them up, she noticed that he at least knew enough to hold them the right way.

He set the parts down. "Now take me to my colleague."

They came upon Yan and the short man in discussion at the end of the casting line, examining the different parts the factory manufactured. Both registered a look of surprise at the helmeted man.

"Ah...Vader, we were just going over the production line. Everything appears to be functioning well," the small man said.

"Agent Tsova, do you...," Vader started to say, but Tsova interrupted him.

"Tsst ! _Mister_ Tsova, if you must," he said, while making a slicing gesture across his neck.

Vader sighed. "Agent Tsova there is no need to maintain a ruse. The Empire will not be leaving this planet anytime soon."

"You're from the Empire ?" Reina said with excitement.

"These various pieces are components of a hyperdrive system. Further, they are of Kuati design," Vader said.

"Are you sure ? Kuat is a loyal vendor to the Empire," Tsova said.

"I have been to KDY many times. These parts are not stamped as such, but the detailing is quite characteristic. KDY would not be the first merchant to play both sides of the market," Vader said.

"Both sides ? So you think this is part of an opposition force ?" Tsova said.

"Chandrila buying doonium.An Alderaanian frigate guarding a hidden factory making hyperdrive parts. What conclusion would you draw ?" Vader asked.

"That the protestors may be building ships to begin a fortified rebellion. I agree it looks that way," Tsova said.

"No, they don't call themselves the Rebellion. They're the Resistance," Reina said.

"Whoever they are they'll be surprised when they return and find the 501st waiting for them," Vader said.

"Mr. Kozur did you receive a message shortly before we arrived ?" Tsova asked.

"No. We had no idea another ship was coming in," Yan said.

Tsova nodded. "Then some of the... Resistance is still nearby. We need to bring out the 501st and track them down. Lord Vader, can I leave you in charge of that ? I want to see if I can dig up other clues inside this factory."

Reina saw that the discussion was over and that the Imperial strangers would be going on about their business. Now was her last chance. She took hold of the black suited man's right arm, meaning to catch his attention. The leather of his suit felt soft and thick underneath her fingers, but the arm inside felt unnaturally hard.

The man in black took a sharp intake of breath, and pulled his arm out of her hand.

"Sorry," she said," I just wanted to ask you if you've ever been to Coruscant ?"

Vader was unprepared for the electric jolt that coursed through his body at her touch. The last time another human had intentionally touched him, he had not been in this suit. The last time, it had been Padme'. He looked over at the girl; she had an expectant look on her face.She must have asked him a question, but he hadn't even heard it.

"What did you say ?" he said, struggling to regain his composure.

"Have you ever been to Coruscant ? I hear it's beautiful," she said.

"I have an apartment there, and yes, it has its own beauty. But the sky is so bright you can't see even a single star at night," he said.

"I wanted to go there, but the the Resistance came, and I gave up hope," she said.

"The Empire is here now. We will restore your planet's freedom," Vader said."You will still see Coruscant, I can feel it."

Reina flashed a broad smile. "Thanks. I'd better get back to work."

------

Darth Vader began to make his way back to the _Illusion_, formulating his plan for directing the 501st in their search for the Resistance members on this world, and for the ambush they would make when the Resistance ship returned to Verkai. His heart rate had dropped back to normal, now that the adrenalin the girl's touch had brought had subsided. Maybe he was just a man, not the Chosen One.

Still, he had been right about Chandrila's threat to the Empire. The Force still whispered to him, and answered his call. Perhaps great purpose was not solely the property of the Chosen One.In time, it would be revealed to him what role the Force intended for him. Until then he would work for the stability of the Empire, follow the will of the Force. And , if he was strong enough, next year he would take back Luke.


	11. The Black Death

**Chapter 11 : The Black Death **

It began as a creeping thing, a quick death that came to a few, in the unnoticed places.It had lived forever in the small vermin prevalent in developed areas, but randomly it changed a little,and became able to infect humans.Now it slunk in the back alleys, the dark taverns, the dank hovels on the edge of cities.Methodically it moved forward, always finding a new host in the nick of time. Since it could kill within a day, it always risked stranding itself in an isolated corpse.In the game of survival, where luck may be the most important factor, it came up a winner.

One day, it had the fortune to catch a ride in the body of a stowaway, and it took to space.They thought he died from pressure loss, what with the bloody foam pouring out his mouth. So sure were they of the reason for his demise, that they weren't worried when specks of foam hit their clothing. But they should have been.

When they undressed that night, it was hiding in the dried spots on their clothing. It could have lived another twelve hours, but it was not necessary. It had already made the leap to another body. These men did not die from it, but they gave it to their shipmates when the coughing began. The med droid isolated them, but it was already too late.

Their ship docked at its destination, and it walked out with the crew onto a new world. Not that it cared; one human host was as good as another. Some crew members took new assignments immediately, and it went with them. Through the trade routes, unlimited numbers of naive hosts were made available to it. It had hit the viral equivalent of a jackpot.

When it made its appearance in the cargo handlers and tavern keepers, it gained attention, but not comprehension. No one understood how quickly it had dispersed in the Galaxy. On its home world, where most of the population had already gained immunity, it killed mostly newcomers.Now every host it came upon had no defenses against it. Their bodies rose in an uproar against it, their own immune response causing their lungs to fill with the frothy fluid. The healthier they were, and the stronger their immune system, the sicker they became.

When it began to kill on planets spread far across the Galaxy, fear rose throughout the Empire. Quarantines sprang up overnight, and suddenly nonhuman workers were in high demand to keep commerce going.With an entirely human composition , the Imperial Forces did not have that option. When it entered an Imperial Star Destroyer, and killed ten percent of the crew, even the Emperor took notice.

While the Galaxy withdrew behind nanopore masks, and xenophobia raged on as travelers became as welcome as the tax collector, the medics hastened to develop a vaccine, but without success. Worlds turned to their own traditional treatments to keep the invader at bay, mostly without changing the course of the disease. But on one planet the death rate from the virus was virtually nil. A plant used for centuries in folk medicine, now given against this new invader, worked. When the medics would finally study it, it would be found that the plant, if taken early in the infection, halted the devasting inflammation that ruined the lungs and led to death.

It was not a cure, but it was an enormous aid in battling the killer. Its use should have spread quickly throughout the Galaxy, as the anti-inflammatory chemical in the plant was easily synthesized in the laboratory. But the planet on which the plant grew was under the control of one faction of humans, who saw their good fortune as an advantage to be pressed against the humans on the opposing side. While their own peoples would be safe, they hoped the virus would run unchecked among their foes.

------

Life had gotten easier since he no longer thought of himself as the Chosen One, since the battle in which Palpatine crowned himself the victor between them.He had become a good soldier in the service of the Empire, following orders, suppressing his own ambitions when they arose. With that change, Palpatine's antagonism had subsided, and sometimes the Emperor even considered his ideas. Perhaps on the instructions of the Emperor, the command staff of the Imperial Navy had become less obstinate and more cooperative with him. And, oddest of all, Palpatine had begun addressing him as "friend". He guessed he qualified as "friend" because he was the only person Palpatine thought wouldn't kill him, and that was only because he had already tried and failed.

The battle had been so long ago, he could hardly remember what he had been fighting for, anyways. He had once pledged to bring peace and justice to the Empire, to make something of which Padme' would have been proud, but his memory of her was like a disc that had been played too many times, and it had become erratic and weak. Sometimes, if he tried too hard, her face would not come to him, and he had to make himself relax, so that he could pull her image from his memory. He feared that one day it would not come at all, and it would be as if she never existed.

There was the proof of her existence, though, waiting for him on Tatooine. He had once thought he fought against Palpatine so that he could rescue his son, raise him, know him, work together to restore both justice to the Empire, and prominence to the Force. But Luke was already thirteen, already started down the path of manhood. The people around him, Owen, Beru, and probably Obi-Wan, were the ones guiding him, not himself. What could he offer the boy, what example could he be for him, if he was not strong enough to overcome Palpatine's grip? Each year he renewed his vow to regain his son, but it had become more a habit than a real promise.

He had also fought against the chaos that Palpatine brought to the Galaxy, against his manipulations, against his lies, against his lack of concern for the citizens of the Galaxy. He still valued honesty and loyalty, however rare they were, and believed the people were owed a straightforward leader who acted decisively for their benefit. Perhaps that was why he continued on now, kept his patience, trusted in the Force. Afterall, it was one of the few dreams he had left.

Sometimes, though, his faith was weak. He doubted whether it was right to simply wait and watch, to aid Palpatine in his convoluted rule of the Galaxy. That strategy had allowed the elusive Resistance to grow into a now official Alliance, as they called themselves, or Rebellion as they were known in the Empire.Certainly when a Rebel intrusion was too bold, the Empire chased the offenders down, tried to make examples of them, but the root from which the Rebellion grew was never harmed, and each branch that was cut down gave rise to five more. He feared for the stability of the Empire, cursed those who would tear it apart, hated even more those that would withhold the answer to this disease from their fellow man in the hopes of weakening the Empire.

He relished this assignment, then, because it was one of the few that he could believe in. There was no doubt about its necessity, about the clarity of its purpose.All citizens deserved to be safe from the black death that had spread across the galaxy, not just the ones that hid behind the curtain of the Rebellion. They would seize the reserves of the drug Anatriene from the hands of the Rebels, duplicate it in Imperial pharmacies, and deliver to the Empire relief from the spectre of the black death.

------

Protect the lab. They must protect the lab at all costs. Mar Nilan hadn't been a soldier long, but already he knew he must think only of the mission objective.The pharmaceutical lab was their most valuable asset. Some said the drug was evidence that the Alliance was right, that its discovery on an Alliance controlled planet was meant as a punishment for the misdeeds of the Empire. The Alliance had never been able to take down as many Imperial troops as the sickness had, and rumors circulated that the Emperor was even afraid to leave his residence on Imperial Center. Others thought the drug's discovery was just good fortune, but either way the drug protected the outnumbered troops of the Alliance and funded the organization through exports to the worlds deemed worthy.

He counted himself among the ones on the side of luck. The proof that the Alliance was right came from its own ideals, not from some imagined omen of destiny.The Alliance was right because it fought for the rights of all citizens, not just humans.The Alliance was right because it espoused freedom, and democracy, for the right of worlds to agree to disagree, rather than subscribe to an Imperial ideal that came from one man.He had not suffered much under Imperial rule, but that could change tomorrow with a whim of the Emperor. Mar wanted a secure, stable Galaxy for his daughters to grow up in, and that alone made the Alliance worth fighting for.

This fight would be different from all other missions he had undertaken as a soldier in the Alliance. While it was true that the Alliance was growing in strength and numbers, it was still a speck in the night sky compared to the Empire. It battled the Empire the way rebels always had, with stealth, ingenuity, and the strength born of conviction. They had disabled communication lines, disrupted key Imperial meetings, and engaged stormtroopers in small numbers on outlying planets, but they had never taken the Empire head on. This time, the Empire was coming for them.

The reports of Star Destroyers in orbit had already trickled down the ranks. The Alliance commanders had no illusions about their ability to overcome the superior numbers of the Empire. Victory might not be possible against the Empire, but they could do damage, instill some caution in the Empire for the next time they engaged the Alliance. Maybe, just maybe, luck would be on their side, and by some miracle they would keep the Empire from overrunning the pharmaceutical lab and the associated treatment center.

The Alliance leaders had spread their meager troops over the most vulnerable areas. Mar Nilan's company had taken up position directly outside the medical complex. The day was so beautiful it seemed surreal that the Empire would soon be upon them.With nothing to do but wait, he pulled his image pad from his shirt pocket, and thumbed through the pictures it held. Liria, his wife. Seya, his older daughter. Nea, the younger. Liria had been shocked when he first told her he was going to join the Alliance, leave his safe position in the commercial sector. He just hadn't been able to shake the feeling that this was important, that he needed to contribute, and tearfully, she had put her support behind him. He looked up from the image pad, feeling guilty, and was relieved to see he wasn't the only one in his company viewing images from home.

At the first crackle from the captain's comlink, Mar's company rose quickly to attention. The Empire had landed. Stormtroopers were coming. Many stormtroopers.Then an unexpected bit of information came across the com. Darth Vader himself had been sighted alongside one battalion.Murmurs rose from among the troops.

Mar's captain attempted to set his men at ease."Vader's presence is an opportunity, an opportunity to cut at the heart of the Empire in a way we've never been able to do before. Taking him out would be a huge victory for the Alliance."

A voice from behind Mar. "But sir, can that be done ?"

The captain continued."Despite what you may have heard, our contacts from within the Senate tell us that he's just a man.And if he's a man, he can be killed. His most vulnerable spot would be appear to be the electronic controls on his chest. The rest of his armor is reportedly resistant to blaster fire. But let's not get too fixated on Vader. Our assignment is to protect the reserves of Anatriene in the pharmaceutical area. The Empire might be too afraid of the sickness to even enter this building."

Mar heard his captain's instructions, but couldn't stop his mind from turning back to Vader. Vader, the messenger of the Emperor's will. If he was a man, there was no evidence of it, no heart, no soul. Lacking even the face that gave the Emperor a token of humanity, Vader was simply an enforcer, death embodied. Mar shivered unconsciously at the thought of him.

An explosion near the front of the building rocked Mar's entire company. The Empire was here. They had planned for hand to hand combat, thinking the Empire would not destroy the very thing it had come for, but the Empire apparently felt confident in the accuracy of its bombs.

Mar's captain called to his men to disperse around the perimeter of the building, to make a smaller target area. Stormtroopers were now visibly advancing, taking cover in the ornamental landscaping at the outskirts of the medical complex.The Alliance fighters returned fire as the front line of stormtroopers came into range.

Mar leaned back against the wall of the medical building, taking refuge behind a concealing shrub. His captain was suddenly at his shoulder, shouting instructions over the din of the bombs.

"You're the best shot in the company, Nilan. I want you to go in to the pharmaceutical lab, secure yourself inside, and take out any Imperial that comes through the door. If they reach you, that means the rest of us are gone. Understood ?"

Mar nodded crisply. Proving to be the best sharpshooter in the company had come as a surprise to a man whose previous career had kept him confined to an office. But he had taken to sniper training like a Hutt to gambling. His ability to become completely single-minded about his target, along with his superior eyesight, had earned him the highest marks in the company.

With a side to side assessment of the incoming fire, Mar moved swiftly from points of cover to a side entrance. He slipped into the building, pleased that blaster fire had not followed him. He headed confidently down the corridor, the importance of his assignment giving him fresh energy. This was what he had joined the Alliance for, to accomplish something of significance.

In was a running joke in his family, the way he could predict a visitor's arrival. He didn't know how he did it, he just knew that he could. He had that weird feeling now, but he wasn't at home, and he wouldn't have any guests here. He knew not to ignore the sensation though, so he doubled back to check the hallway from which he had just come. What he saw made him suck in his breath. Vader was coming his direction.

He ran far enough down the hallway to be out of what he guessed was Vader's hearing range. He hit his comlink, listening for his squad. He needed to know what to do about Vader. The com produced only static. He didn't have time to think through what that meant; he had a job to do. He thought of his captain's orders; he had to get to the lab, protect its contents.

The medical complex could be a maze to those new to its interior, but Mar could run its hallways as easily as his own home. He thought quickly of the fastest route to the pharmacy. He would have to take a shortcut through the patient ward, the one housing those who had been too ill to move to a safer location.

Mar knew he was immune to the sickness, having already survived his own bout with it, but that didn't stop his skin from crawling as he passed the beds filled with patients. Some were on ventilators, some looked gone already, and all had been brought here by their families in the desperate hope that the drug Anatriene would save them. Transported on private ships, moved at lightspeed from all parts of the Galaxy, they came from affluence, racing against time. He was sorry to disturb them, but with Darth Vader on his heels, he had no choice.

He hurried through the double set of doors exiting the ward, acknowledging for a moment that he had broken isolation protocol. He ran down the hallway, pausing to hit the entry controls outside the lab. Once inside he surveyed the room for a defensible location, then turned off the lights in the room to give himself the advantage over an intruder. Anyone entering the room would be starkly outlined for a moment, and that was all he needed. If his intuition served him right, that "anyone" would be Vader.

He tried one last time to contact the rest of his company, speaking softly into the comlink, but there was no answer.

He tucked himself into a corner behind an island cabinet that jutted out into the room. He took the luxury of closing his eyes, using the spare moment to draw in a deep focusing breaths.When he opened his eyes, he thought only of what it would take to bring Vader down.It would have to be a chest shot, at that electronic box, which hopefully controlled something vital. The flashing panel was a good sized target, and easy to see in the dark, which this room was.

With only one task before him, he eliminated all other thoughts in his mind. His determination cooled him, chasing away anger and fear, and keeping him calm. Vader would trace his path, follow him into this room,and become the target. He would shoot him square in that electronic panel, and the Emperor would be minus one key aide.It was a simple plan, and he just needed to wait for Vader to come to him.

Already he could hear the mechanized breathing coming closer. He drew his blaster, rising just high enough to see over the cabinet countertop.He took aim at the doorway, and his field of vision narrowed.His knees complained from pressing into the hard floor, but he ignored them.His heart rate slowed, and along with it, the passage of time. The normal chatter in his head was silenced, as his whole body awaited the signal from his eyes. Like the snare on a primitive's trap, when the flashing red lights tripped his retinas, his fingers would close on the blaster trigger, and Vader would be done. With no thinking involved, the action would take only the time necessary to traverse his synapses, a fraction of a second. He would sit here all night, in this position, mind emptied of decisions, if that's what it took.

He didn't know exactly how long he waited, crouched and ready, but his patience was rewarded. The door slid open, the respirations of Vader announcing his proximity. The glow and hum of a lightsaber entered the room ahead of him, but it was not the correct red stimulus, so for Mar nothing yet had changed, and he held position. Something told him that Vader was about to move forward, and so he held his breath, looking to steady his aim.

The lightsaber provided the only light in the room, and in its eerie glow Mar could make out the startlingly tall form of Vader. He was not turned correctly to give Mar the clear shot he needed. Mar forced himself not to react, to maintain focus on his target. In the darkness, Vader turned towards him, as if he could see him. The chest plate came in full view, and Mar squeezed the trigger.

He expected the shot to hit Vader dead on, and have an effect, preferably lethal, but instead the blaster fire was deflected harmlessly by the lightsaber. His commanders had told him Vader was powerful, ruthless, cunning, but they hadn't explained what a lightsaber could do. He pulled off several shots in succession,no longer keeping his tight focus, but the result was the same.

He scrambled backwards across the floor, knowing his position now revealed in the dark, and moved towards the rear door of the lab. He kept firing one-handed, thinking that one shot was bound to make contact, but his hopes were not met. Vader was moving in on him with a speed that seemed unnatural.He could not stop that black death, that monstrous blending of man and machine.

So this was how he would die.He hadn't died when the ocean swept him off the jagged beach rocks when he was nine, nor had he died when another pilot almost flew a speeder full throttle into his when he was twenty. But he would die here, in this room, the logic was inescapable. He was surprised by how calmly his mind accepted that reality, but he truly felt no fear.

He thought of Liria, and their daughters Seya and Nea. He loved them all so much, and suddenly sadness filled him, not because he would die, but because he would never see them again.It felt so wonderful when they were all at home together, the girls laughing about some thing or the other. He held them tight in his mind, while his hand continued squeezing the trigger on his blaster. He was thinking of them still when the lightsaber ran him through.

------

Vader watched the Rebel disappear through the doors directly ahead. A ripple in the Force had caused him to notice a soldier breaking away from the group and entering the building. After the stormtroopers had cleared a safe zone, he had followed the soldier's route.He felt the young man's protective intent, his focused dedication, and knew he was headed somewhere important.

The room Vader was standing in front of now was filled with many people, their muddled thoughts overlaying the trail of his target.He ignited his lightsaber, not knowing what he would find inside the room.

The first door slid open to reveal a second, and he paused in the space between, feeling for those that lay beyond. Not soldiers, that was evident by the disorganized thoughts flowing out of the room, not unless they had given into fear. He stepped forward to activate the door, and moved into the room decisively.

Once inside, he was sorry he had done so. This was a patient ward, filled with gravely ill people obviously infected with the black death. When the illness had begun to spread in the Galaxy, he had lined the air filtration system of his mask with not one, but three layers of nanofilter, to keep from being exposed to the virus. The med droids said one layer was sufficient, but it was not they who risked catching the disease, so he had been using three just to make sure. If this thing killed healthy people, there was no doubt that his ruined lungs would never withstand the assault of the virus.He was going to have to disinfect his whole suit when he got out of this place.

He shook his head once to bring himself back to his task. He ignored the gurgled breathing of patients and the whoosh of ventilators in the room to concentrate on finding the young Rebel. Feeling no trace of him in the ward, he thankfully exited the room through the set of double doors at the rear.

He found himself in a hallway intersection, and paused a moment to decide how to proceed. He sensed the path the Rebel had taken, the fixation of the soldier's mind on his task marking clearly which way he had gone. He followed the trail to its end, stopping outside another doorway. Scanning the interior of the room, he hesitated when he no longer felt the determined thought patterns of the young Rebel.

The trail had led clearly to this spot, but now it seemed to have dead-ended.If the soldier was in the room ahead, he had a remarkable ability to clear his mind, an ability he had not often encountered except in his days among the Jedi. He raised his lightsaber, and proceeded cautiously after hitting the door controls with his mind.

Inside, the room was completely dark, save for the light from his weapon. His helmet automatically adjusted the gain for low light conditions, but it was still too dim to see clearly. At last he sensed his target, a flash of Force energy coming from the middle part of the room.Vader realized this Rebel had minor Force talent, though untrained, and he turned toward the source of the Force blip.

Blaster fire revealed the Rebel's existence even more definitively, fire which Vader reflexively blocked with his lightsaber. His foe worked his blaster as fast as it would recharge, but all shots were lost in the red energy of the saber. He pushed forward towards the Rebel, working furiously to deflect the incoming shots.He admired his opponent's determination and lack of fear, but that feeling did not stop him from taking advantage when a brief lapse in blaster fire occured. Detecting the Rebel's position more through the Force than with his vision, without hesitation he plunged his lightsaber through the young man's chest.

Breathing heavily, he felt the cooling system in his suit activate. Finally able to turn his back on the Rebel, he located the light controls and illuminated the room. He made a visual sweep of the room to assess where he was. A medical room of some sort, not unlike the pharmacy he had seen too many times at the Surgical Reconstruction Center. He had been right to follow the soldier here.

Using his helmet comlink, he made contact with the commander of the stormtroopers. Satisfied that the building had been secured, he finally turned his attention to the fallen Rebel. Blond and blue-eyed, he looked how Luke might in another decade. He had fought courageously, unconsciously using the small bit of Force talent he possessed. What a waste.He would have made a fine Imperial, the kind of man Vader wanted supporting his command. Had it been worth dying to keep others from living ?

------

In the refresher, he had scrubbed himself until his scars stood in stark white contrast with the irritated redness of his skin. His life support suit hung in the air, drying from the vigorous application of disinfectant.Finally certain that he had removed any trace of the virus from his surroundings, he could at last relax within the hyperbaric chamber.

He reclined his tall body in the chair, the lightness of his robe a welcome change from the weight of the suit.Eyes closed, he rubbed both golden hands slowly over his face, ending with them clasped behind his head. His concern over catching the virus must have been the reason he forgot. Afterall, it had been part of his earliest combat training by the Jedi; it was usually second nature. But he had lapsed this time, and now he was paying the price.

Like all soldiers, he had long ago developed the detachment necessary to kill another being. In hand to hand combat, it was easy, because it was a matter of self defense. In other situations, it was usually simplest to focus on the act that would bring death : the acquistion of a target in the sights of a TIE fighter, or pulling the trigger of a blaster. Galaxy-wide, all soldiers knew this, but for the Jedi, there had been one more requirement, one they only discussed among themselves. For Force sensitives, it was usually best to turn off that ability at the moment of contact, otherwise the dying thoughts and feelings of your opponent came rushing to you.

He knew this, better than any, but he had forgotten, and now the last images of the fallen Rebel pervaded his mind. Part of it was his own fault; he could have shoved the memories away, but instead they fascinated him, and he couldn't help reliving them. The young man had been so certain of the righteousness of his cause.He had no doubts, no fears about his actions, only a last moment of surprise. Even when he knew death was coming, he had not regretted giving his life for the Rebellion.

There had been a time when Vader felt a similar conviction behind his actions, but that time was long gone. He had risked his life this mission, not from Rebel weapons, but from the deadly virus, and he wasn't sure why. Nominally, it had been to gain the use of Anatriene for the Empire, but would that have been worth dying for ? Was he really willing to die for Palpatine ? He snorted, because the answer to that question was an obvious "No". Truth was, he continued on because he saw no other path to take.He envied the dead Rebel's clarity of purpose, wanted that again for himself.

And then there was the other part of the Rebel's final thoughts, the ones filled with his love for his family.His family had brought him strength, brought him comfort; he had been rich beyond compare. So short a time had Vader known feelings like those, it surprised him how much he still longed for them.Denied both the life of an ordinary man and the path of the Chosen One, the place between the two had proven as barren as the Jundland Wastes. He played the borrowed feelings of the dead Rebel over in his head, savoring them while they were still fresh.

Once he had hoped to sit atop the Empire, but today he wished only for the things a common Rebel had possessed.


	12. Despayre

**Chapter 12 : Despayre **

Darth Vader wanted to be done with the Death Star, wash his hands of it forever, and leave it with its doting master, Wilhuff Tarkin. Its purpose was distasteful enough, but the events that had been necessary for its completion had left him disgusted, most of all with himself for his part in them. Now that it was finally operational, he would have been more than happy to command _Devastator_ to a sector far away from the enormous space station.

Unfortunately, for the third time in as many weeks, Admiral Motti was on the comlink from his own Star Destroyer, with yet another urgent message concerning the Death Star.Vader thought seriously about turning the call over to a subordinate officer, letting Motti stew a bit, but he knew that would only delay the inevitable.

Seated in his private quarters on board _Devastator_, he activated the com. "What is it _now _, Admiral ?"

------

They had been born at almost the same time, the Death Star and himself.Not his literal birth,of course, but his rebirth as Darth Vader.When he first saw the enormous frame hanging in space, he had been but 23, the trauma of Mustafar barely scabbed over in his mind.So many things he had taken for granted then, that he was the Chosen One, that he had the power to make things the way he wanted them to be, that Palpatine would rule the Empire with wisdom.He had not yet discovered that he was not as strong as he thought, and that Palpatine was not his mentor, but a manipulator who enjoyed the game even above the outcome.

Now he was 41, and the illusions and optimism of his youth were long gone from him. Not that he wanted to see with 23 year old eyes again; it was much better to see things as they truly were, even if the reality was harsh.There were just so many things he would have done differently, if he had only known then what he knew now. The things he had dreamed of, he had not accomplished. The things he had accomplished did not bring him peace.

He supposed he had conquered his greatest fear, though.He had known by the pain and terror that gripped his heart that he couldn't live without her, and so it had begun.The life changing event, the Galaxy changing event, all had been driven because he had been afraid to lose her.Miserably, he found he could live without her, had been forced to live without her, and here he'd been, almost twenty years, alone, untouched, unloved. In a way, it was almost the life the Jedi had outlined for him. But he no longer feared being alone, because now it was the only way he knew.

His other accomplishments were as nothing to him. Ironically, Palpatine was the one that had said it best, that he longed for a life of significance, a life of conscience. The destruction of the Jedi, his support of the Emperor, all had seemed to be the right thing to do once, but now he was not so sure.Service to Palpatine had not delivered the future he thought it would. There must be something more, something more to life than being a soldier in the Empire. He wanted the Force to speak to him, to show him the way, so that he might at least once take that action that was beyond doubt.

And then there was the great absence in his life, his failure to raise his son. He had promised him he would return, but the years had slipped by, and he'd only set eyes upon him the one time.Now Luke was eighteen, a man grown. He hoped Owen had been a good father to him, that Owen had known the things a father should teach a son, since he himself had not been sure how it should be done.Someday, they would still meet, and he would explain to Luke what had kept him away.

Just as his life had gaping holes, the Death Star was in the same state.Twenty years they had been working on this technological marvel. The credits that had been spent on its construction could have rebuilt a thousand worlds stunted by poverty, could have educated trillions of younglings. Fed the Galaxy, forever.Instead it was mired in one object, a weapon of incomparable power designed not for defense, but to strike terror in the hearts of Imperial citizens.

He understood the reasoning behind its creation, in fact he'd heard the Tarkin Doctrine directly from the lips of its originator, the now Grand Moff Tarkin, who had long held the Emperor's favor. Rule through the fear of force, rather than force itself, Tarkin had said early in his career, and the Emperor had nodded in agreement.

In theory, Vader could stand behind the concept. Every time he paused silently in an entry before a meeting, waiting to sit until he felt the level of unease among the Imperial officers rise, he was using the Tarkin Doctrine. A little intimidation never hurt anyone, and when it was enough to deflect conflict, it was quite valuable. The problem with the Tarkin Doctrine in practice was that the level of threat necessary to keep the Rebellion from growing had continue to rise until the Death Star was no longer grand excess. Fleets of Star Destroyers and legions of stormtroopers were simply not enough to quell the Rebellion, and it was now necessary to threaten the citizens of the Empire with the destruction of entire worlds in order to maintain their cooperation.

_That_,he thought, shaking his head in disapproval, _is a failure of leadership_. Palpatine and Tarkin were two of a kind, really. They both understood power, needed it like he needed his ventilator, but neither of them understood leadership.Fear could be useful, but you could push a man too far, and then he might come lashing back at you, even if his effort was futile.That was where the Galaxy stood now, with its back against the wall, and nothing left to do but come right back at its Imperial rulers. The Rebellion was only the natural response to the oppression of Palpatine's New Order. He had seen it coming, not in a farseeing way, but in a common sense way, tried to warn Palpatine of it long ago, but the Emperor had dismissed him with that all-knowing expression that came so easily to him.

Even now, as the Rebellion gained strength and momentum, Palpatine hardly seemed concerned. Maybe Tarkin had swayed the Emperor's mind, convinced him that the Death Star would solve the Rebel issue, as Tarkin so fervently believed. To that end they had sent him to hurry construction, to finish this thing that its designers had been unable to complete in nearly twenty years. This thing that he did not believe in, that represented the wrong solution to the problem. But he went because he always went,to make Palpatine's wishes into realities.If he had distinguished himself among all the Emperor's seconds, if he had carved out a niche for himself in this Empire, it was that he could be counted on to make things happen. It was comfortable in his niche, a spot where he could hide from Palpatine, be left alone to accomplish things as he saw fit. And in the comfort of the niche, he could forget that he himself was ruled by Palpatine's version of the Tarkin Doctrine , by his own fear of the Emperor's power.

------

The planet was called Despayre, and even the fanciful spelling of its name could not disguise what its inhabitants felt.On first arrival at the Imperial prison world, convicts might have felt elation when they discovered how loose security was in the penitentiary, and how easily they could escape into the wild jungles of the planet. Soon they were back, though, the numerous predators native to the planet forcing them to return to the relative safety of the prison compound. That's when it set in, the despair, when they realized that their fondest wish was no longer to escape, but to be let back in to their own cell.

While the prisoners saw the situation as a nightmare, Wilhuff Tarkin saw paradise. An isolated Outer Rim world, populated by a captive group unable to communicate with the rest of the Galaxy, a group to whom hard labor in space would seem a welcome relief to their current situation; to Tarkin, it had seemed almost too good to be true. Stealthily he had moved the final stages of construction of his beloved Death Star from the safety of the secret Maw Installation to the planet Despayre.

The convicts had not proved quite as desireable a work force as Tarkin had hoped, however. While they had fought over the opportunity to come off planet to work on the gigantic space station, their eagerness did not translate into productivity.Prison disputes carried from the surface spilled out in orbit, while other convicts worked slowly to delay their return to the prison below.Some prisoners carried out acts of sabotage, not to prolong their work, but for the joy of chaos. Too far into the process to move the Death Star to another labor source, a way had to be found to push the prisoners harder, to exact more effort from them, to get the station finished.

They had brought Vader in as the solution, expected him to wring his own standards of performance from the miserable group of prisoners, and get the Death Star completed. He had about turned around and left when he first assessed the situation. He knew from his own experiences, and from his time at Palpatine's side, that first you had to know what was important to a man to know how to motivate him, to drive him on. These men had precious little to live for; he didn't see much he could use as motivation.

By working on the Death Star they had already left the squalor of the prison behind ; he could not offer them any more reward than that. That left only the fear of punishment, the threat of being sent back to the prison, or worse, death. An endless exchange of workers constantly needing training was not productive either, so the Imperial foremen had taken to tolerating a certain amount of misbehavior just to keep the work flow going.

To start, he simply established standards. He outlined expectations for the workers and stopped the Imperial foremen from taunting the prisoners. He made the chief engineer of the Death Star, Bevil Lemelisk, come out of his remote office and down to the actual construction site. A structured workplace, and his overseeing presence, were enough to make immediate improvements.

The calm was short-lived, however. On board _Devastator_, stationed safely away from the debris field surrounding Despayre, he received reports that the work crews were in revolt. By the time he arrived in the shuttle from _Devastator_, the stormtroopers stationed on the Death Star had restored order, but the prisoner work crews were still hurling insults at their foremen. Determined to get to the root of the problem, he interviewed the prisoners, only to find the uproar had started when an Imperial lieutenant had casually mentioned that Despayre would be the first test site when the Death Star became functional. He had been unaware of this detail, and silently cursed Tarkin for omitting this information.

With no hope left for themselves, the prisoners were refusing to work, despite the presence of the stormtroopers. Needing to keep the project on track, he reluctantly turned to an ancient technique, one probably used in every corporation in the Galaxy, although perhaps not at the same level. He assembled the prisoners, felt of their minds, and determined who among them were the leaders. Those men, as well as the loud mouthed Imperial officer, were executed on his order.

Disoriented without their leaders, the remaining prisoners had returned to work, offering no resistance to their Imperial supervisors.Their lassitude was transitory, however, and within a week, they had put down their tools, and refused to do anything more.Once again, he found himself with little choice but to use the threat of death to push them forward.

It was not so effective this time. A new leader had emerged among the convicts, and with stormtrooper blasters pointed at his chest,he had shouted,"We may be prisoners, but we are not slaves ! We will not build the weapon that will kill our brothers down below."

He had stared with admiration at the defiant prisoners. From where did these men who had nothing pull such inner strength ? How did they decide that they would be pushed no further, even if the consequence was death ? He found he could not punish them for their rebellion. He ordered the stormtroopers to lock them in their cells, while he returned to _Devastator_ to analyze the situation.

He was still on board _Devastator_ when the call came in from Tarkin. Bevil Lemelisk, unhappy that he had not taken more drastic action, had complained to Tarkin that the prisoners had ceased working on the Death Star, that it would never be completed at this rate. Tarkin's solution had been to order the execution of every prison laborer, and to start over with new workers. Slaves, Wookiee slaves were the answer to the construction problem, Tarkin now believed, and he wanted Vader to stay on to supervise their adjustment.

Slaves. The prisoners had refused to become slaves. They had volunteered to work on the Death Star, so even though their options had been death in the prison below, or death for refusing to work, technically, they had chosen their own path. He had used that reasoning to comfort himself, to avoid the ugliness of which he had become part. With the Wookiees, there would be no such shield from the truth.

As a small boy, he had dreamt of freeing the slaves of Tatooine. He had never forgotten the feeling of being a thing, of being someone else's property, of not being in control of his own life. Instead of freeing the slaves, he was now to become the enforcer of slavery. Of all the things he had done for the Empire, for Palpatine, this one would require him to turn himself inside out, to become the very thing he had sworn to destroy, more than any other, save for one.

He remembered this feeling. He had felt exactly like this the night before Mustafar, on the steps of the Jedi Temple.He had known that what he was about to do was wrong, but he had valued her life above all others.He had silenced the small voice in his head, ignored the warning in his gut. In the weeks after, he went over and over the arguments, solidifying his defense of his own actions.The Jedi were a threat to the Senate, to the Republic, to Palpatine.It became second nature to repeat the reasons why his choice had been right.

But time, like water through a canyon, had worn away defenses that had once been as solid as rock. Now, sometimes, in the dark, in the silence of the hyperbaric chamber, without his armor and his mask, sometimes he heard the small voice. They had been his comrades,his teachers, his brothers and sisters. And the younglings, the younglings... who so desperately had wanted his protection.

He could not change what he had done; he could not bring them back.

The Jedi had spent so much time teaching him to listen to the Force, but they never taught him to listen to himself. Follow the Force, follow the Code, they said,but never follow your heart.Or your gut. Or that almost silent voice inside that is not the will of the Force, but the will of your own conscience. To look inward is the way of the Sith. Without knowing how to listen to himself, it had been too easy to follow the voice of others, of the Council, of Palpatine.

Those prisoners knew. They had no Force to guide them, no Code to follow, no Council directing them, and still they _knew_ the point past which they would not let themselves be pushed any further. How was it that a man learned to do this ? Maybe, not by quieting the mind, which let in the Force, but by listening with the heart to the soft whisper of the conscience.

Tarkin and the Wookiees would be arriving soon.He already knew that he would do what needed to be done. He would take these beings that had been stolen from their home world, ripped from their families, and feed them to the monster that was Tarkin's dream. The former slave would indeed become the slavemaster.

------

Never in a million years would he have guessed Motti's newest message. The first call from Motti had been surprising enough. Governor Tarkin and Bevil Lemelisk, enroute from Eriadu to Despayre to perform the first tests of the Death Star, had been attacked by Rebels, and forced to abandon their ship in an escape pod. Only Admiral Motti's tendency to keep his nose close to Tarkin's backside had saved the Governor and the Death Star engineer from a long, uncomfortable ride in the claustrophobia inducing escape pod. Motti's Star Destroyer had intervened to rescue the pair, and delivered them safely to the Death Star.

The second call was not unexpected; it was not even necessary. Even though Tarkin and Lemelisk had been injured in the Rebel attack, they could not wait until they were recovered to test the space station. They had stood in the control room of the Death Star, bandaged and bacta'd, to watch the maiden test of the ferocious superlaser. The planet Despayre, and all its inhabitants, were obliterated in an enormous explosion. They had to move the Death Star back from the shock wave of debris, but that had not dimmed the glow in Tarkin's heart. On board _Devastator_, he had fought back nausea and headache as the Force delivered the news of the planet's destruction well in advance of Motti's signal.

When Motti delivered the third message,however, he made him repeat it. He sat in utter disbelief, trying to make sense of it all. Not only had the Rebels attacked Tarkin's shuttle, but in two separate occurances they had stolen sets of plans to the Death Star. Complete plans. Complete technical readouts on this thing that had been secret for 20 years. How could information this important be lost at precisely the most crucial moment ?

A breach of this magnitude reeked of Palpatine's influence. The pattern was all too familiar. By allowing the plans to fall into Rebel hands, the balance of power was tipped, fueling the flames of the Galactic Civil War. Palpatine would once again be in his favorite seat, presiding over the conflict, seeing how far he could push the thin edge of control, ever confident in his ability to swing events in whichever direction he desired.

All his efforts, all his actions in which he had yet again ignored his conscience so that the Death Star could be completed, had only been to aid Palpatine's amusement. When would he learn? When would he stand in defiance, and refuse to be pushed any further?

There was no time to think about that now, though. Now he had to get _Devastator_ to the Toprawa system, where according to Motti's report, Rebels had taken over the relay station, from which they could transmit the Death Star plans. He would pursue the Rebels across the Galaxy, if necessary, and retrieve the stolen plans. Then, maybe then, he could finally be done with the Death Star.


	13. The Awakening

**Chapter 13 : The Awakening **

How could all hyperlanes lead to Tatooine ? For a wasteland of a planet at the far edge of the Outer Rim, it sometimes seemed to Darth Vader that it was the focal point of the Galaxy.

After finding the Rebels barricaded inside the relay station on Toprawa he had configured a blockade of that planet to prevent the stolen Death Star plans from going any further. Unfortunately the lightning swift Corellian corvette _Tantive IV _had managed to come out of hyperspace inside the blockade ring, then re-enter hyperspace as quickly as it exited. It would have seemed a pointless manuever, except that the technicians on _Devastator _had detected the transmission of the Death Star plans from the Toprawa relay station to the _Tantive IV_. It was not supposed to be possible to follow a ship through hyperspace, but he had used the Force to keep the _Devastator_ hard on the tail of the _Tantive IV_.

When both ships dropped out of hyperspace again they were outside Tatooine. He would have given anything to have seen the faces of the _Tantive's_ crew when they realized they had not evaded the Star Destroyer. They definitely wouldn't have wanted to have seen his face,were that possible, when he discovered the plans were not aboard the corvette. An escape pod, devoid of life forms, had been launched from the _Tantive IV_, suggesting that the stolen plans had been hidden inside. It would be necessary to send a detachment of stormtroopers to the surface to investigate.

He would have gone himself, but Tarkin was waiting at the Death Star, both for himself, and their captured spy, the Alderaanian Senator Princess Leia Organa. Beyond the reclamation of the Death Star plans, Tarkin was certain the location of the main Rebel base could be wrung from her. Because of Tarkin's impatience, Vader placed an Imperial commander in charge of the detachment on Tatooine, while he took _Devastator_ forward to the Death Star. Before he began his interrogation of the Rebel Princess, he checked on the progress of the search for the stolen plans.

He switched on the holotransmitter. "Have you found anything,Commander ?"

"Yes, m'lord. The escape pod appears to have contained droids. Tracks were found moving away from the pod."

"It would be possible to store the plans in the memory banks of a droid. I take it you followed them ?" he said.

"Of course, m'lord. The droids were picked up by a transport crewed by small, hooded creatures."

"Jawas," he said absently. "They buy and sell droids on Tatooine."

"Yes, sir, exactly," the commander said, thrown off by Vader's familiarity with the situation."We were able to extract information from these...jawas regarding recent transactions. We _convinced _them to reveal the location of the purchasers of the droids."

"You have not said you found the droids, Commander."

"Well sir, we haven't exactly. We went to the location the jawas mentioned, a moisture farm outside of Anchorhead, but the droids were not there. We searched the entire homestead, interrogated the occupants."

A feeling of dread was creeping in his mind."What did you do with the prisoners ?"

The commander's confusion was evident even in the small projection of the holotransmitter. "Prisoners, m'lord ?"

"You let them go ?"

The commander brightened considerably."Oh no, sir. We burned the place, and the occupants, too."

Dread was giving way to panic. "A boy, was there a boy ?"

"No sir, no children. They.."

"NO, not a child." He found he was almost shouting into the holotransmitter. "A youth, a young man."

Confusion had returned to the commander's voice. "I'm sorry m'lord.I didn't know we were looking for a particular person. The occupants were a man and a woman, middle aged, identification papers read Owen and Beru Lars. Should I be looking for a young man ?"

"No.You are looking for droids. Move the stormtroopers on to Mos Eisley. If the Rebels are going to get the droids off of Tatooine, it will most likely be through the space port there. Secure the town."

"Yes, m'lord. It will be done."

He flicked the holotransmitter off. He should have gone himself.He would have made sure that Owen and Beru's faithful raising of his son was not repaid in pain and death. He would have made sure Luke was safe.Instead he was light years away, on board the accursed Death Star, unable to protect Luke.

Why had the Rebel ship come out of hyperspace over Tatooine ? Why did the Rebel owned droids come to be bought by Owen ? Following the will of the Force had taught him to dismiss nothing as mere coincidence. At the edge of his perception he could feel the breeze of destiny starting to flicker through his cloak, an unreadable future starting to swirl around him.

Answers, he wanted answers. It was time to move on to the interrogation of the Rebel Senator. Perhaps the information she would undoubtedly reveal to him would give him insight not only to the plans of the Rebels, but to this stirring in the Force.

------

He couldn't help but admire her.Her emotional strength and mental resolve were quite impressive, especially when considering the percentage of prisoners who usually succumbed to the invasion of the mind probe. To find such strength in one so young was even more remarkable. He was sure her father must be quite proud of her. Tarkin had no such appreciation, though. He was focused only on the failure to obtain the location of the principal Rebel stronghold.

Tarkin had his own plan to convince her to give up her secrets, and to that end Darth Vader escorted the Princess Leia Organa through the hallways of the Death Star, her slight form flanked by two black helmeted soldiers. The group entered the control room, where Grand Moff Tarkin and Admiral Motti were already waiting. Senator Organa leapt to the offensive as soon as she was within conversational range of Tarkin.

"Governor Tarkin. I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board," she said fearlessly.

Tarkin, for all the barbaric acts in his head, firmly believed in civility. Her demeanor disgusted him as much as her words."Charming to the last. You don't know how hard I found it signing the order to terminate your life."

Leia was undaunted. "I'm surprised you had the courage to take the responsibility yourself."

As the two continued their verbal battle, Vader stood silently in the background. He had noted how strongly the Force was with her during his interrogation sessions, though she seemed to have no awareness, let alone usage, of the Force. That in itself was not an unusual finding, since younglings were no longer screened for Force abilities, but he couldn't remember Bail having any Force sensitivity.

Leia was just comprehending Tarkin's words that Alderaan would be destroyed by the Death Star, even though she had disclosed the name of the Rebel base. She tried to push past Tarkin, but Vader put a hand on her shoulder, and pulled her back, almost holding her against him.

Finally her mental resolve broke down, and he felt her desperation and fear. They watched as the Death Star's superlaser focused on Alderaan, blasting the planet into rubble.

The screaming in his ears was so loud that he didn't think it was possible for one small human to make that much noise, and then he recognized it was not coming from Leia. The agonizing noise continued, making him close his eyes, while waves of nausea swept over him. He realized he was grasping Leia Organa's shoulder rather tightly. Fortunately, in her grief, she did not notice. He struggled a moment to regain his composure.

The Force had not spoken to him like that in a long time.In the last decade, since his assassination attempt on Palpatine, his Force visions had dwindled into nonexistance.Even the destruction of Despayre had hit him with only moderate discomfort. With the destruction of Alderaan, however, the Force had unleashed the full power of its sorrow, as if his inaction after Despayre had been a disappointment. If the Force wanted his full attention, it certainly had it now.

He still felt unsettled as he escorted Leia Organa to her cell on the detention block, where he transferred her custody to the detention officer. She accepted her fate with great dignity. He could sense she had buried her grief so that she could once again assume her Senatorial face. Having been held prisoner while Tarkin made the great pronouncement, she was unaware that the Imperial Senate had been dissolved. She had no formal standing now ; she was a mere Rebel, a spy, a traitor to the Empire.

She had given up the name of the Rebel base : Dantooine. He remained unconvinced that revelation would prove to be of any use. Her mind had been too calm, too focused, as she spoke what should have been her dearest secret. He wondered what other secrets her mind held, especially the reason why she had brought the _Tantive IV _to Tatooine.

The detention officer relayed a message. "Lord Vader, Grand Moff Tarkin requests your presence in the conference room."

------

He had been standing in the conference room with Tarkin when the call first came in regarding the ship that had been captured in the Death Star's tractor beam. His hope then was that the ship, which matched the description of a ship that had evaded Imperial troops in Mos Eisley, would contain the stolen Death Star plans. Strangely, the ship had been empty, the crew apparently having abandoned ship in escape pods.

As he walked around the perimeter of the Corellian freighter he was disappointed to find that the ship supplied more questions than answers. Disappointment was replaced by astonishment as he sensed a presence he had not felt in a long time. A very long time. He had no doubt it was Obi-Wan. Fifteen years of continual contact in the Master-Padawan relationship had left Obi-Wan's mental signature indelibly imprinted in his memory. The recognition had been so quick, it wasn't even conscious; he didn't even have time to think how illogical it would be for Obi-Wan to appear on the Death Star after a twenty year absence.

In fact, the identification was so certain, he found he was not asking himself _if _Obi-Wan was here, but _why_ ?

------

Obi-Wan Kenobi had never been very prescient. As hard as he had worked, that particular Force ability had never been his.He trusted in his fellow Jedi to provide that information, and if there had one salvation after Order 66, it was that Master Yoda had survived and could continue to farsee for the both of them. He drew on that knowledge now, for his own comfort, to give him courage, as he walked on to a future he could not see. He trusted in Yoda's vision, trusted in the Force, that what he was about to do was the right thing.

It seemed so risky to leave Luke now, his training barely begun, his association with the remnants of the Jedi Order really nothing more than a piqued interest. To leave him in the vicinity of his father, after spending the boy's entire lifetime trying to keep that very person from him, seemed even more dangerous. He had to remember that he was not truly leaving Luke, that he would still be able to speak with him, as Qui-Gon had done with himself during those long years on Tatooine. At least, that was the theory. Qui-Gon was so much more gifted in the Force than himself; he truly hoped he would have the ability to transform himself, to have his consciousness persist beyond the death of his body.

It must be done. The absent father was such a powerful figure in Luke's mind; the influence Vader would wield with the boy would be immense, the attraction irresistable, if Luke learned the truth. A wedge must be driven between them to eliminate the possibility of that bond, a wedge stronger than a simple story about Vader killing Luke's father. A direct experience that would burn itself into Luke's memory, and make Vader forever into an unforgiveable enemy.

This intentional manipulation of Luke's experience felt wrong, but Obi-Wan reminded himself that it was for Luke's safety. This was war, a war between the Jedi and the Sith, as in millennia gone by, except that now the Jedi were on the verge of extinction. The survival of the Jedi Order rested in this boy, and in war, sometimes things had to done by whatever means were necessary. He could not allow uncontrolled emotion to interfere with the will of the Force.

He heard the sound of the ventilator first, though he did not recognize it for what it was. The Force told him to look down the corridor, and he paused for a moment, analyzing what he saw. There was no doubt this was Darth Vader, though he only knew the image from news reports and Senator Organa's description. This monstrous being was in a way his creation; what atrocities would the Galaxy been spared if he had only had the courage to kill Anakin at Mustafar ?

He could see no trace of his former Padawan in the black armor before him. Vader was much taller than Anakin had been, certainly a result of the limb prostheses. Vader's presence was blank and unreadable to Obi-Wan. Anakin had never been able to contain his feelings that well, and Anakin could have never stood as quietly and patiently as Vader was doing now. An impenetrable shield seemed to cover Vader's mind; it was almost as if the mind inside was no longer human, but a machine.

The black form moved towards him, confident and controlled. "I've been waiting for you Obi-Wan. We meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you I was but the learner. Now I am the Master."

Not Anakin's voice, but it sounded like him, nonetheless.

The clash of lightsabers brought Obi-Wan instantly back to Mustafar. This fight was pale in comparison, his own speed and agility diminished by age and lack of use. The absence of youthful strength would be of no consequence.He wasn't trying to destroy Anakin this time; he only needed to hold him off until the time was right, until Luke was present.

He kept his saber in a defensive posture, not allowing Vader close enough to be a real threat.He was close enough, though, for Obi-Wan to see the armor, the electronic controls of the life support suit. A fearsome visage Vader presented, but Obi-Wan saw mostly how much machinery had been necessary to sustain the wreck of a body that he had left smoldering among the rocks of Mustafar. It would have been a kindness to finish him then.

The slowness of the duel was apparently frustrating Vader.

"Your powers are weak, old man," he taunted.

Inside, Obi-Wan sighed. _Still the same old Anakin. Still doesn't get it. He thinks this fight is about us, about determining a winner. This battle is not about that at all. _He was reminding himself as well, reviewing the instructions Qui-Gon had given him.

He sensed Luke's presence, and turned his head slightly to see the boy staring, mesmerized by the battle. Now was the time. It went against every reflex he had to let the crimson lightsaber come toward him undefended. As Vader's blade swept towards him, he had to close his eyes to prevent himself from automatically countering the blow.

It was an eerie sensation, but at the same time comforting, to be enveloped in the Force in a way that he had never felt when his body had been alive.His relief at being able to accomplish the feat helped him throw off the disorientation, to come back to the present.

_Run, Luke, run._

_------_

It hadn't felt as good as he thought it would. He'd imagined it numerous times over the last twenty years, and each time then it had brought enormous satisfaction as he watched Obi-Wan's head roll away from his body, or his face contort in agony as he sliced limb after limb from his former Master's body. Sometimes he just saw the dull look of surprise as he shoved his lightsaber through Obi-Wan's chest.

Seeing Obi-Wan had answered one question, but presented more. Yes, he'd been right about sensing the presence of his old Master, however improbable that had seemed, but now it was important to know why, why here and why now ? Obi-Wan hadn't sensed him at first, and he'd stood quietly, waiting for Obi-Wan to finally notice him. His stomach tightened when Obi-Wan's eyes lit with recognition, but he let his hatred calm him.

The moment he had dreamed of so often was upon him, and he walked forward confidently to set events in motion."Now I am the Master," he had told Obi-Wan, so that there would be no misunderstanding.

"Only a master of evil, Darth," Obi-Wan had replied.

He shook his head within the helmet._Same old Obi-Wan. Sees everything in black and white, and judgemental to the bitter end._

Obi-Wan struck the first blow, but it soon became clear that this was to be no replay of Mustafar.It was hard to believe that this was the same Obi-Wan who had taken on the four sabers of General Grievous. He could feel the warmth of victory's breath, and his heart pounded with the knowledge that revenge would soon be his. When Obi-Wan conceded the battle and withdrew his weapon, he took the opening, let loose the mighty arc of his lightsaber to complete the dream. Only once it was done, the satisfaction he sought did not come to him.

It wasn't just that Obi-Wan had for some reason purposefully sacrificed himself, that he'd offered no resistance to the full length swing of the lightsaber.It wasn't just because in the end Obi-Wan hadn't lay crumpled in a heap, but had somehow vanished in the Force to leave only his ragged brown robe behind. It was that after it was done, after Obi-Wan was no longer among the living, nothing had changed.

His limbs had not regrown, his lungs had not been miraculously healed, and Padme' had not reappeared at his side.Obi-Wan had been responsible for the loss of all of those things, but his death had not brought any of them back.It was wrong that Obi-Wan had robbed him , that he had wandered whole and unpunished after leaving him for dead, and preventing him from being with Padme' when Luke was born.Without a doubt Obi-Wan deserved to die for those crimes, but nevertheless, vengeance left him hollow.

A commotion in the hangar bay drew his attention; it was a firefight between the stormtroopers and the crew of the Corellian freighter. The blast doors closed in front of him, preventing his entry into the hangar. No matter. The tracking device was securely in place aboard the ship; though its crew might think they were escaping, in truth, the Death Star would be right behind them.

As he walked down the corridor with Obi-Wan's lightsaber in his hand, his mind turned to Luke. To his knowledge, three people had been involved in raising Luke : Owen, Beru, and Obi-Wan. Now all three were dead. Luke was alone in the Galaxy.

He remembered when he was 19. He had been overconfident and insecure at the same time. Wanting to prove himself, but also needing the support of his mentors. Not a good age to be alone. If ever there was a time that Luke needed his father, it would be now. He would have to put aside his fears and step up to the responsibility, be the father that Luke needed.

As soon as the Rebel base had been dealt with, and he could leave the Death Star, he would take one of _Devastator's _shuttles, fly it alone, and find Luke.Though he might not have found a way to raise Luke before, he would not fail him now.

------

Luke Skywalker had never felt air like this before. On Tatooine, it could get hot enough to roast a sandrat, but you weren't really aware of the air. You felt the heat, the wind, the sand, but not the air. Here, on the fourth moon of the planet Yavin, the air was a palpable thing, heavy and full of moisture. It hit you like a rampaging bantha, made every exertion feel like you were fighting a tractor beam. All that moisture made the jungles on Yavin 4 thick and green and lush, the exact opposite of Tatooine.

But then everything was different now. His Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, killed by Imperials. Ben, killed by Darth Vader before his eyes. Anything familiar to him was now gone, save for the friends he'd made in just these past two days : Leia, Han, and Chewie. Besides his father's lightsaber, which rested comfortingly on his hip, they were all he had in the Galaxy.

It was all a bit overwhelming, and he hiked alongside a wall of the enormous Massassi temple, away from the hub of activity, to sit by himself for awhile. His back was up against the ancient building, the stone cool and soothing through his tunic. He heard footsteps coming up the path, fronds of plants rustling out of the way as someone passed through.

Leia Organa came into view, and seated herself next to him. "I thought I saw you come this way. Are you feeling any better ?" she asked.

Luke was pleased she had paid attention to his whereabouts, but at the same time he felt like a cad. Here he'd been so caught up in his own grief over Ben, he hadn't even asked her about her own family on Alderaan."Yeah, a little. How about you ? Your family was probably on Alderaan."

Her head sagged downward, and her voice was so soft he could hardly hear her. "Yes. My father, my friends, everyone is gone."

"I'm so sorry, Leia.If it's any consolation, I understand. I'm an orphan, too," Luke said.He thought about putting his arm around her, but decided against it.

"I miss my father already. He was such a great man. He taught me so much about being strong, about fighting for what you believe in," Leia said. "You must miss your parents."

Maybe it was the similarity of their losses, but there was something about Leia that made him feel he could tell her anything. "They died when I was very young. I never knew them. Ben told me my father was a Jedi Knight, that they fought together in the Clone Wars. That was more than my uncle ever told me."

"Your father was a Jedi ?" Leia found herself viewing Luke with new respect, noticing a depth in his eyes that she hadn't seen before. "Then my father probably knew your father. He always spoke very highly of the Jedi, told me many stories of the Old Republic, when he worked closely with the Jedi Council."

"Ben also told me that Darth Vader betrayed and murdered my father," Luke said.

"He is a very evil man. They say he is closest to the Emperor. My father always told me to keep far away from him.Unfortunately that wasn't possible on the Death Star," she said.

Luke suddenly felt protective. "He didn't hurt you did he ?"

Leia shook her head. "No. Nothing permanent. But now you understand why it's so important for the Alliance to succeed here. We've got to find a way to destroy the Death Star."

"Well, count me in. I'll do whatever the Alliance needs.Back on Tatooine I used to say I hated the Empire, but now I mean it. Now it's personal."


	14. The Hero

**Chapter 14 : The Hero**

There was no better feeling in all the Galaxy. Power at his fingertips, the eternity of space in his viewscreen, speed so exhilarating it pasted a grin on his face. He pushed his TIE Advanced x1 even harder, the two pilots in their standard TIE fighters straining to keep up with him. They were skimming the surface of the Death Star, the threat of impacting any number of protruding structures ever present. He would do this any day of the week, even if the future of the Galactic Empire _wasn't _hanging in the balance.

But it was.With this direct attack on the Death Star, the Rebellion was launching its strongest offensive yet, choosing to take the Empire head-on, rather than escaping into hyperspace.He might not agree with the Galactic Civil War, but he felt at home in it. All of Palpatine's political manueverings, all the propaganda that was thrown at the citizens of the Empire, none of it made sense to him, but this, the straightforward pitting of pilot vs pilot in open combat, this was his arena.

He had grown up, really, in the Clone Wars, made the transition then from boy to man. It was in combat that he first discovered how different, how much stronger his own Force abilities were than his fellow Jedi. Away from the structure of the Jedi Temple, acting in the chaos of war, he had explored the limits of his capabilities, and been rewarded for that. "The Hero with No Fear", they called him, and he still liked the sound of it, even if it were not true. It was the most recognition for his efforts that he had ever received, one of the most satisfying times in his life.Now, even twenty years later, the opportunity to fly in combat again, to be the hero, was irresistable to him.

The Death Star was Tarkin's realm, though; onboard he submitted to Tarkin's command. As the Rebel fleet began their attack on the Death Star, however, the Grand Moff locked himself away in the isolation of its control room, distant from the frenzied actions of his men. It was Vader who was accessible to the line officers, who understood what to do in combat, and they came to him in the hallways, seeking his leadership.To him the strategy was obvious. If the small Rebel fighters were evading the large scale weapons of the Death Star, then send the TIEs after them and beat them at their own game.

He would have been content to let the TIE squadron battle the Rebels, but soon after the encounter began, General Bast reported to him that the Rebels' attack strategy was aimed at a particular design flaw in the Death Star. With that knowledge, he decided to go after them himself, and took two of the best TIE pilots with him.

They were flanking his x1 now, in tight formation as they plunged into the equatorial trench of the Death Star. He commed the gunnery crew on board the space station, ordered them to hold their fire as he went in pursuit of the Rebel Y-wings. The three Y-wings were older craft, and the TIEs had no trouble overtaking them. He targeted each one in succession, bringing off a successful hit in each case.

He led the TIEs back out of the trench to seek out the next group of attackers. It seemed ironic that here he was, one of the Death Star's louder critics, single-handedly saving it from destruction. But while he didn't care about the space station, he did care about the more than a million men stationed on it that would doubtless be lost if the Rebels succeeded in destroying the Death Star.

The next set of Rebel craft heading into an attack run were X-wings. Newer and faster, they could give the TIEs a run for the credits. He opened the throttle on his x1, finally coming close enough to pick off the first trailing wingman, and allowing one of the TIE pilots to take the other. The lead X-wing was far enough in front that he couldn't catch it. It got a shot off, aiming at the small thermal exhaust port that General Bast had identified as a weak spot. If it went in, it was over for all of them. There'd be no time to escape the blast wave of the explosion.

He pulled up out of the trench and was relieved to see that the proton torpedos had only impacted on the surface. He sighted the X-wing responsible for the attempt, and chased it down, his laser cannons sending the X-wing crashing into the surface of the Death Star.

There was no time to spare; the next trio of X-wings were already setting up in formation, already disappearing into the structural canyon. He whirled his x1 around, making sure the two standard TIEs were still with him, and plunged once again into the trench. To his surprise, the X-wings were too far ahead to be in visual range. He slammed the throttle wide open, wondering how long he could keep the engines in the red zone.

At this speed the walls of the trench were a blur, and he found himself relying on the Force to keep the x1 on course.It didn't seem like he would catch up to the Rebels in time, but in his mind he saw it happening, as the Force revealed the future to him. Gradually he gained ground on the X-wings, and he registered a hit on the trailing ship. It was only lightly damaged, and the pilot raised it out of the trench."Let him go," he advised his wingman.

He pulled up closer to the second X-wing, making sure to actually destroy, rather than merely damage the ship.With that accomplished, only one X-wing remained, the leader, whose pilot was flying like a man possessed. This one appeared to have the determination to get the job done; he had to stop this Rebel quickly, or all would be lost. He struggled to keep the X-wing in his sights, the pilot's evasive manuevers surpassing his ability to follow. He couldn't remember the last time, if there had ever been a time, when he had been out-flown. It gave him some solace, then, when he recognized that the pilot's strong Force sensitivity; at least he wasn't being outdone by an ordinary Rebel.

Not the first good man he'd had to shoot down. Another loss for the Galaxy, he thought with chagrin, another waste of talent consumed by the illogic of the Civil War. He landed one shot, but it went high, only frying the X-wing's astromech droid. He pulled closer to improve his accuracy. It was all but done now. Take out this last pilot, let the Death Star destroy the Rebel base, and he would be free to go in search of Luke.

He fired at the X-wing without making contact, then saw a flash as one of his wingmen disintegrated against the trench wall. His remaining wingman was hit by laser fire as well, that TIE colliding with his x1. The impact spun his x1 out of the trench and away from the Death Star.What had just happened ? He was completely dumbfounded as he worked to regain control of the x1.When he finally stabilized the craft,the view was even more unbelievable. They had done it. The Rebels had blown up the Death Star.

Why had he not forseen the Rebel ship hitting his wingman ? The Force had never deserted him before; he never got blindsided like that when flying. Was this the start of getting old ? One's Force abilities started to become erratic ? Obi-Wan's performance had certainly seemed to indicate that could happen.

As he stared at the expanding ring of debris, another possibility came to his mind. Perhaps the Force had intervened to throw him clear of the explosion in order to ensure his survival. Maybe this was turbulence from the storm looming on the horizon of the Force, the future he could feel, but not yet see. Maybe this was the sign from the Force that he had been waiting for, the signal that announced his destiny.

------

The party was over. The noise and celebration had ground to a halt, as the Alliance troops- and everyone in the Alliance was a soldier, really- had finally packed themselves off to bed. Luke couldn't sleep, though, despite being so tired he could hardly keep his eyes open. It was just that when his head hit the pillow, his mind kept going, replaying the Death Star battle over and over.

He'd finally given up, and wandered outside the Massassi temple. Even at night the planet Yavin dominated the sky, not as the massive red globe it was in the daytime, but as an enormous span of darkness devoid of starlight. A light breeze stirred through the trees surrounding the temple, and he found at last the temperature could be considered comfortable.

A hero, they'd called him. A hero. He liked all the recognition, the wide smiles and pats on the back from total strangers, but he wasn't sure he was a hero. He was different than he'd been on Tatooine, though. There he'd been a follower, a tagalong among his friends. Maybe a show-off for his daredevil flying of his skyhopper, but not a leader.

In space, it had been different. Wedge had called him "Boss". Biggs flew behind him, covering him, not vice versa, as it would have been on Tatooine. Poor Biggs. Another friend lost to the Empire. Luke hadn't meant to take over, to jump ahead of Biggs when they made their run down the Death Star trench.It was just that they'd already lost too many men, and time was getting dangerously short. He knew he could do it, knew he could fly his X-wing full throttle down the trench, and hit that exhaust port. It had been beyond knowing he could do it; he had felt so certain that he almost saw things happening before they really did.

That's why he didn't think he was a hero. He'd simply done the job he knew he was capable of, not thrown himself into a situation beyond his ability. That would be a hero, someone who accomplished the impossible. He had become a leader among men, that much was true.He could feel himself changing, and he didn't think he'd be falling back into the tagalong role.

Maybe the change had begun when he first felt the Force on board the _Millennium Falcon_. Sensing the training remote had been a small thing, but because of that he was able to recognize the feeling of the Force when he was in his X-wing, to use the Force to guide the proton torpedos into the exhaust port. Even though destroying the Death Star was a monumental accomplishment, he could tell that he had just barely touched the surface of the Force , had just begun to comprehend its power.When it spoke to him, it was like it was in his blood, like it was a part of him.He could feel his own awakening potential separating him from his friends. It gave him a sense of connection to the universe, and that, more than anything, would stop him from returning to the Luke of old.

A sentry making his rounds of the Alliance complex diverted from his path to approach Luke. He shined his light at Luke, then quickly turned the beam to the ground. A broad grin filled the guard's face."Ah, Skywalker, the hero."

------

If he had accomplished the feat, he would have been a hero to the Empire once again. A hero, for fending off the Rebel attack, saving the Death Star, and thus enabling the destruction of the Rebel base on Yavin 4. If he'd accomplished the feat, he would have killed his own son.

He hadn't found out right away; there'd first been the extended process of returning to Imperial space from the vicinity of Yavin. Although his TIE x1 was equipped with a hyperdrive, the ship had been more damaged than he had first appreciated, and he had crashed on the planet Vaal. The journey back was of little consequence now, although he couldn't remember being more glad to get out of the suit then when he finally landed his comandeered shuttle back on Imperial Center.

Palpatine had shown neither surprise nor enthusiasm when he had reappeared from the dark reaches of space, but then the Emperor always acted as though every twist of fate had already been anticipated by him. Of course, it helped that Palpatine had received news of the disaster shortly after its occurrence. The three senior Imperial Army officers on board the Death Star, Generals Tagge and Bast and Colonel Veers had not shared Tarkin's unshakable faith in its design, and had at the last moment evacuated from the space station, allowing them to return to Imperial City to inform the Emperor.

Vader had resisted the impulse to ask Palpatine if he had forseen the destruction of the Death Star, because the urgency that the Emperor was now injecting into the pursuit of the Rebels told him the pendulum had swung farther in their favor than Palpatine had expected. The Emperor redeployed him immediately on the next Star Destroyer leaving Imperial Center.He'd rather been back aboard his own ship,_Devastator,_ but any ship that took him out of Palpatine's reach was satisfactory.

After the Death Star explosion he had faced the reality of being alone in deep space in a craft less than ten meters long. No Star Destroyer hangar in which to land. No Imperial base nearby.The tiny cockpit had been his home for quite awhile.Plenty of time to think over the events that had just transpired. Luke, absent from the Lars homestead. Obi-Wan showing up after a 20 year absence on a freighter that, after escaping the Death Star, headed straight to the Rebel base.A Force strong pilot leading the charge to destroy the Death Star.

Being sent by the Emperor to find the new location of the Rebel leaders gave excellent cover for his own agenda. While he worked hard on his official assignment, he reserved the best spies for a separate mission, telling them that it was the Emperor who demanded to know the identity of the Rebel pilot who had blown up the Death Star.

That was a lie. Palpatine knew only the details General Bast had given him, that the Rebel fleet had attempted to shoot a proton torpedo down the thermal exhaust port, and had apparently succeeded.Palpatine had not been in the trench of the Death Star flying after the X-wings. Palpatine didn't know that the final pilot, the successful pilot, had glowed white hot with the Force. Only he had been there; only he knew the truth.

The spies had returned today with a name, and he already knew what they were going to say.Still, when the name actually rolled off the spies' tongues, he felt like he'd been kicked in the head. It was the first time he punished those who had performed well for him. He hated to do it, but he couldn't let the name of the pilot leave the room. He killed them where they stood.

He could hear the name now, echoing in his helmet,as he paced the length of what would have been Palpatine's private office, had the Emperor been on board.The sound of it was as clear in his memory as it had been a few hours ago when he first heard it pronounced. Those three syllables that bound them together. The name that had gone unspoken for so long.Luke, he thought of him only as Luke, but of course, this would be his name._Luke Skywalker._

He wanted the air to suck back into their mouths, to rewind time so that the name remained unsaid, but that was not possible. Even after their bodies lay silenced on the floor, he worried who else on board the Star Destroyer might have heard that name.He was proud of the fact that not once in the fifteen years since he first saw Luke on Tatooine had he ever let slip thought or emotion to reveal the boy's existence to Palpatine. Now the boy was drawing attention to himself, putting himself in the Emperor's sights. It was only a matter of time.

He gazed out the expansive window characteristic of all of Palpatine's private rooms. So many stars, so many planets, so many places Luke could be. So much to tell him.

_My son, my son, you do not know. You do not know the serpent that awaits you. I will not let him have you._

_Why did I think that you would be content to stay in the nothingness that is Tatooine ? Of course, you wouldn't. We are alike, you and I.The stars call to us, and we are destined for greatness. Already the Rebels count on you, even though you are just a boy. Did you feel like I did when we were flying down the canyon of the Death Star ? Did you feel your ship moving as one with you ? You fly as though you do. Can you feel the Force flowing through you, answering your call ? We are special, you and I,because the Force speaks to us more than it does the others._

_Do you know this yet ? Do you know that you can move things with your mind ? Does the future come to you in dreams ? What do you know, my son ? What have they taught you ? Have they told you of me ? Did Obi-Wan try to poison your mind against me ? Do not believe him, my son._

_I should have come for you earlier, I should have taught you myself.I know what it is like to grow up without a father, and I did not mean for you to endure the same pain. I only wanted to protect you, to keep you safe from the monster who is my Master. I am sorry I was not strong enough to kill him, but I tried, believe me, I tried. Together, though, we can accomplish the act, set the Galaxy free. It does not matter that you are a Rebel and I am of the Empire. These are the constructs of men, not of the Force, and we are one in the eyes of the Force._

_When I was young they said I was the Chosen One, the one of prophecy. But maybe it is you instead.You are young and strong and whole, and I am none of those things anymore. At least, not strong enough.But for you, all of the ways of the Force,and all of its power is still available to you. With your strength and my knowledge we will kill the serpent._

_I will teach you everything I know. How to build a lightsaber, and how to fight with it so that you are invincible. How to use the Force within your body so that you can move farther and faster than you ever thought possible. How to sense the thoughts and feelings of those around you. How to use your mind to move things you thought were immovable. The power of the Force is your birthright, my son.You can become everything that I could not._

_But you must let me find you. Before I can teach you, I must find you. Do not fear me, Luke. I am your father. Come with me, and together we will free the Galaxy._

The insistant beeping of the room com interrupted his thoughts.

"I told you I was not to be disturbed," he growled into the com.

The voice on the other end wavered with the tension that came of being in a no-win situation. "I'm sorry, Lord Vader, but the Emperor demands to speak with you."

_Ah, the serpent himself._ He thought about moving to another room, as the higher resolution of this holotransmitter would instantly give away the fact that he was using Palpatine's office. Then he decided he didn't care, and flicked it on anyways.

"Yes, Master," he said, remembering to kneel down.

"Have our spies returned with more information on the Rebels' location ?"

"I gave you an update less than two standard days ago, Master. I have nothing new to report," he said.

"Things change quickly sometimes, Lord Vader. Wouldn't you agree ?" Palpatine said, ignoring both his insolence and the source of his holotransmission.

Something was fueling Palpatine's inquiry. Had Luke already become visible to him ? "Yes, Master, sometimes they do."

"I expect you to apprise me immediately of any new information in your search."

No, not yet. If Palpatine knew anything for certain, his questions would be more pointed."Of course, Master. Our hunt for the Rebels is my highest priority."

So much to tell Luke. So little time.


	15. Secrets

**Chapter 15 : Secrets**

Strapped into the pilot's seat, Darth Vader launched his _lambda_ class shuttle from the main hangar of Kuat DriveYards, Fondor Division. He headed towards the space docks of the shipyards to make a slow pass around the Super Star Destroyer that would soon be his.Eleven times longer than a standard Star Destroyer, its size was ridiculous, really. It took the concept of lack of maneuverability to a whole new level, its mass surpassing that of a space ship and entering the realm of a space station. With the Death Star gone, this Super Star Destroyer would now be the most powerful weapon in the Galaxy.

But as he looked upon its seventeen kilometer length, he saw not power, but freedom. For the first time since the reassignment of _Devastator _following the Death Star disaster, he would again have his own ship. A ship wherein the crew would follow his standards, not the Imperial Navy's. A ship wherein the Imperial officers would be held accountable for their actions, and their performance would be strictly measured.

He could have no tolerance for errors. He never thought that the search for Luke would take this long. Almost three years he'd been chasing the Rebels, and he felt no closer to success. Every day that went by weighed heavily in his mind as he dreaded the fateful call that would someday come from Palpatine. The call in which Palpatine would say, "Tell me about your son, Lord Vader."

The very thought of it made him want to wring the Emperor's wrinkled neck, and this time with his bare hands, and not the Force. Never, he would never let Palpatine touch Luke. Not his mind, not his body, not his soul. He would never allow Palpatine to do to Luke like he had done to him.

The Force was crackling in him now, so great was his anger.Only the bitter knowledge that even now, even with the darkness of his thoughts infusing the Force into every muscle fiber, he was still not powerful enough to overcome Palpatine, only that tempered his rage.He could not do it alone. He needed Luke, just as Luke needed him.They would work together, watch each other's backs, be _family._

------

Sometimes Luke was amazed that she didn't just slap him. Or shout, "Enough !" But she didn't. Instead, Leia seemed to take his continual questioning in stride, actually tried to dig into her memory to give him the answers he was seeking.

It was not like he had a different question each time. It was always the same one. "What _else_ do you remember your father telling you about the Jedi ?" he would say.

When she did remember something new, it was often a gem, a bit of information he couldn't find anywhere else. And it was not like he hadn't tried to research everything he could about the Jedi. The Alliance members who had lived through the Clone Wars recalled the Jedi as an important part of the Old Republic, but when he searched the data libraries, it was like they had hardly existed, like they had been erased from the history discs. If he did find something, usually it related to them being traitors to the Empire, which didn't fit with what little the older Alliance members had told him.

It made Leia's tidbits of information all the more precious to him. It had become an obsession with him, to know who the Jedi had been, to know what defined a Jedi Knight. It was the only link he had to his long dead father, and he wanted to understand who his father had been, even if it was only in this one way. Maybe, if he knew who his father had been, he could understand who he was.

He knew he wasn't a farmer. Owen and Beru had been very open from his earliest memories that they were not his parents, but rather his uncle and aunt. Why ? No one would have ever known the difference, least of all himself. So why had it been important to make that distinction ? After Ben told him that his father had really been a Jedi Knight, and not a navigator as Owen had told him, he began to think it was because his father had been someone important, that there had been a reason his name had stayed Skywalker, and not become Lars.

Once General Rieekan had overheard one of his conversations with Leia, and joined in with an especially dear piece of information that confirmed that belief.

"I never knew that he had any children, but there was a Jedi named Anakin Skywalker," he said.

"You knew him ?" Luke said with excitement.

"Everybody knew him. Or of him, anyways. He was a hero of the Clone Wars. He was on the Holonet at least once a week."

His search didn't mean he wasn't grateful to Owen for all that he had done for him, all that he had taught him.The survival skills he had learned from his uncle while living in the desert had proved surprisingly useful now that he was moving with the Alliance from planet to planet. While he might have chafed under Owen's strict discipline at home, he now found those lessons were serving him well as a soldier in the Alliance. The military had nothing on Owen.

The Alliance had fled Yavin 4 to new headquarters in the mountains of the planet Thila. The stop here was only temporary, though, just until the new base was completed on Hoth. Hoth would be another new environment for him; the planet was completely covered in ice and snow, and only marginally habitable.

He was ready for the challenge of Hoth. The time here on Thila was dragging, with the fleet grounded in order to ensure that the Empire didn't accidentally stumble across them. He still had his assigned shifts to pull, but they were hardly any more interesting than his time off. He was in between shifts now, sitting in his bunk with his back against the wall, the coarseness of the blanket faintly itchy against his bare feet.

Except for this period of enforced nonaction on Thila, he loved being a pilot in the Alliance. It was everything he ever dreamed of doing when he had been stuck back on Tatooine : flying spacecraft, fighting the good fight, being an integral member of the team. The Alliance had become like his family, really, and sometime he felt ungrateful for wanting still more. Maybe he should just be content to look forward to the future, and stop dwelling in the past. It was hard though, when understanding the past seemed so important to knowing what he should do now.

There was no ignoring that the Force spoke to him, and not to anyone else he knew, except for Ben. He had become accustomed to Ben's disembodied voice uttering instructions and encouragement to him from time to time.He had so many questions he wanted to ask Ben, but when he tried to talk to the voice, it never answered directly. The voice had helped him to become more aware of the Force and taught him a few new skills, but the sessions often left him frustrated because the process was so slow. Back on Tatooine he had promised Ben and himself that he would become a Jedi, like his father. But how could he become a Jedi if he didn't really know what it meant to be one ?

He was holding his father's lightsaber in his hand now, wishing it could talk. He rolled it from side to side, as if by close examination he could unveil its secrets.He noted how the ridges on the activator switch were worn a bit, how the handle grips were rounded off in a pattern that almost, but not quite, fit where his own hand lay. Wear that could only have been created by usage, by his father's hand. What battles had this lightsaber been in ? What enemies had it felled ? Was his father holding it when Vader killed him ? He didn't like to think about that, and decided it was unlikely, because how then could his father have given it to Obi-Wan to give to him ?

But Vader _had _killed his father, and not just his father. That was one of the first things Leia had told him, about the great Jedi Purge, and how the Emperor had commended Vader in front of the Senate for killing the Jedi. Ben said Vader had been a Jedi once, which meant Vader had betrayed and murdered not strangers, but his own friends. That was evil beyond compare, evil that could not go unpunished.

Leia had also told him some of her father's stories of the Jedi during the Clone Wars. While Ben had called the Jedi guardians of peace and freedom , by the time of the Clone Wars they were on the battlefield, leading the clone troops. Ben himself had called his father a cunning warrior. Whoever the Jedi really were, undeniably they were powerful fighters. A Jedi would avenge the death of another Jedi, wouldn't they ? Didn't all warriors do that ? Wouldn't his father have done that had he been left alive after the Purge ?

He remembered the last thing Ben ever said to him face to face, while they were still trapped on the Death Star._Your destiny lies along a different path from mine._What did that mean ? What was his destiny ? He was the son of the man who had been the greatest starpilot in all the Galaxy,a fierce warrior, and a hero from the Clone Wars.To follow in his father's footsteps, he would have to be a man of action and courage. As far as he knew no other Jedi existed, so it would fall to him to avenge his father and Ben, to avenge the Jedi. It would be his responsibility to kill Darth Vader.

------

Something changed. At that very moment, with the snow drifting across his boots, something in the Force changed. The trajectory of the future shifted, as the Force pulled irreversibly down a new path. He strained to see more, but details evaded his vision. _Luke, was it you that caused this disturbance in the Force ?_

The now abandoned Rebel hangar on the ice planet Hoth was the closest he'd come to finding his son. He thanked the Force that the recently promoted Admiral Piett had been onboard _Executor_. Good man, that Piett. Excellent powers of observation, and enough courage to say what he thought. If not for Piett, that idiot Ozzel would have let them pass right on by Hoth, and he'd never be as close to finding Luke as he was now.

Although he had announced to Ozzel "That is the system, and I'm sure Skywalker is with them," only half of that had been the truth. He had been certain that the power generator located on a desolate planet had been evidence of the Rebel base, because despite Ozzel's ridiculous theory, smugglers did not invest large sums of credits in permanent structures. As for Luke being among them, that had been only a guess. Truth was, Luke was a stranger, and he could no more distinguish his presence among the many than he could renounce his life support suit.

He rooted through the debris left behind by the Rebels, passed his hands over the wreckage of their military workstations, tried to find something that would give definitive evidence of Luke's presence here. His search came up empty. Perhaps Luke had been on the Corellian freighter he now knew as the _Millennium Falcon,_ the ship he and the stormtroopers had watched blast off from the hangar, just barely escaping capture. He didn't think so, though, because the change in the Force had come after the _Millennium Falcon_ had left, as if Luke had still been here planetside.

He commed ahead to Captain Needa, instructing him to put the_ Avenger_ in full pursuit of the_ Millennium Falcon._The _Millennium Falcon _had come to Luke's rescue at the Battle of Yavin, so even if Luke wasn't on board, its crew would certainly know his whereabouts. What was a few more hours, or even days, compared to the years he had already waited to meet Luke ?

_We will be together soon, my son._

------

A few minutes ago, he had thought only of finding the _Millennium Falcon_ admist the asteroid field it had entered. He had been thinking about what he would do, what he would say if Luke _was_ on board. How he would compel the crew to reveal Luke's location if he were not. He was deciding what would be the first skill he would teach Luke.Then it had all turned to ash.

If Piett had been able to see through his mask, Vader was sure he would have averted his eyes, given him privacy for the stricken look on his face. Piett was that kind of man. But of course it was impossible to see his expression, and so Piett had not known that the Emperor's command to make contact had filled him with terror.There would be only one reason why Palpatine would be calling now ; he must have felt the same ripple in the Force.

His heart was in his throat as he made his way to the projection room. He had to gather himself, control his fear, appear absolutely unperturbed to Palpatine.

He knelt deeply on the holotransmitter platform, sunk his head down low, as he worked to push all thoughts out of his head. "What is thy bidding, my Master ?"

"There is a great disturbance in the Force," Palpatine said.

"I have felt it," he said. His worst fears were coming true. He hadn't been fast enough. He hadn't found Luke in time.

"We have a new enemy. The young Rebel who destroyed the Death Star. I have no doubt this boy is the offspring of Anakin Skywalker," the Emperor said.

"How is that possible ?" he said._ You lying heap of dung. You who told me I killed Padme'. You who told me my child died with her. How is that possible, you worthless waste of midi-chlorians ?_

"Search your feelings, Lord Vader. You will know it to be true. He could destroy us."

_You have no idea how long I've known it to be true. He could destroy you, you mean. He is my son, afterall._

"He's just a boy. Obi-Wan can no longer help him." _But I can._

"The Force is strong with him. The son of Skywalker must not become a Jedi," Palpatine said.

Ahh, there was the source of the disturbance in the Force . Another survivor of the Purge must be with Luke, must be starting to train him in the ways of the Jedi._For once I agree with you, Master. That possibility would complicate things._

He tried to pull the Emperor's malevolent gaze away from Luke. "If he could be turned, he could be a powerful ally."

The Emperor's tone made it sound as if he were truly considering the proposition for the first time. "Yes. He would be a great asset. Can it be done ?"

"He will join us or die, Master," he said. _By my own hand, if that's what it takes to save him from becoming your "asset"._

His anger fed his bravado, but he still realized that with Palpatine's awareness of Luke, the act of training his son had just grown exponentially more difficult. And if Luke was already being trained by a Jedi, there was no telling what poison was being pumped into his mind. To bring Luke to his side, he might have to combat both the Emperor and his son's unknown mentor.

His thoughts drifted unbidden to the past, and his confidence abandoned him. He saw his mother die in his arms, felt the warmth leave her body. He heard Palpatine telling him Padme' was dead, felt the gash in his heart that had never healed over. _Not this time. This time I will not fail._

------

Luke Skywalker decided he liked rain. Of all the new things he'd encountered after leaving Tatooine, rain had been one of the most foreign.After spending his youth working on the family moisture farm, fighting nature to glean precious water from thin air, he'd discovered there were places where water literally fell from the sky. It was like that here on Dagobah, and while its swampy wetness bothered him at first, in the end, he decided he liked the rain. Especially when he was inside Master Yoda's hut, the interior warmed by fire, and the raindrops softly hitting the roof with a now familiar and soothing sound.

He was lying in his bed on the floor of the hut, his blanket only loosely over him, the heat from the fireplace pervading the small dwelling. He had gotten his wish. He was learning to be a Jedi, being taught by the Jedi Master of all Jedi Masters, at least any that had lived in the past 800 years. Trouble was, he was more confused than ever. Everything that Yoda was teaching him went totally against what he thought he knew about the Jedi.

Yoda didn't talk about warriors or fighting or being a hero. He talked about being calm and passive, about using the Force only for defense.More than that, he said that for a Jedi, emotion was wrong. To have feelings, to use the information they provided was acceptable, but to act on those feelings was wrong. And not just negative emotions like anger and hate, but even feelings of love and friendship. A Jedi was not supposed to have attachments. Was that why his father left him with Owen and Beru ? A Jedi was not supposed to have a family ? How could love lead to the Dark Side ?

It all seemed so strange, and he would have cast a doubtful eye on Yoda's teachings, except that they _worked._ When he was able to clear his mind completely he could feel the Force more strongly than he had ever thought possible. He finally understood what Ben had meant about a Jedi feeling the Force flowing through him.It was always there, and he just had to learn to let it in, let it help him. It enabled him to move things with his mind, to sense the feelings of the other creatures around him. He could feel the tree branch under the coils of the snake, the snake's alarm when he grasped it.He had to agree; it was very peaceful and calming to feel connected to every living thing.

But communing with nature couldn't be all there was to being a Jedi.Yoda had spoken in an almost reverential tone about how powerful Luke's father had been. How could power and passivity go together ? How could he be expected to know that Darth Vader had killed his father,killed Ben, decimated the Jedi Order, and do nothing about it ? Ben must have sent him to Yoda for a purpose beyond mere education. Why was he being trained at all, if it were not to take action ?

There must be a way for the two paths to cross, to follow the way of the Jedi, and to follow what was in his own heart.He already knew the Jedi answer would be to trust in the Force, to let his destiny be revealed to him.Yoda would say he had to learn to let go, to be at peace. But what if what it took for him to be at peace was to destroy Darth Vader ?

------

He'd been staring at the viewscreen inside the hyperbaric chamber for way too long, reading the incoming reports, trying to find the _Millennium Falcon_ . He'd been staring at the screen so long, in fact, that his vision had become a little blurry. It was like there was a mist in the room. He cursed the mask for preventing the simple act of rubbing his eyes. He tried blinking it away, but it was still there. In fact it was getting thicker, like a fog, and soon it covered everything. He felt cold, though the temperature regulator should have made that sensation impossible, but the chill was strong enough to make him shiver inside the suit.

Now all around him he could see gnarled tree roots hanging in the air, as if he were below ground.Ahead he could just make out the outline of a path, and he moved forward to see where it led. The ground was muddy, moisture laden, and it squished beneath his boots.Snakes crawled in and out among the tree roots.

Then suddenly someone was there, coming through the mist. A youth, blond like he had once been, but not him, in a flightsuit that was not Imperial issue.The young man stepped back from him, looked at him with guarded eyes that seemed almost hateful.

He took in the boy's face, followed the features that were not unlike his own._"Luke,"_ he called, but no sound came out. _"Luke, is that you ?"_

The boy answered by igniting his lightsaber, holding it forward in a challenging manner.

_"Luke, what are you doing ? I'm your father,"_ he thought he said, but he couldn't hear it.

The blue lightsaber pushed towards him, and he brought his own crimson blade up to meet it. They exchanged parries while he wondered why they were fighting, and then the boy unleashed a mighty swing that must have hit him. It must have hit him because he felt himself falling, felt his head hit the ground roughly .

The boy was standing over him now, the lightsaber not sheathed, though at least his expression had softened. He saw the saber handle in the boy's hand, really_ saw_ it for the first time. It was his lightsaber, the one Obi-Wan had taken from him on Mustafar, held tightly in what could only be Luke's hand.

_"Why ?"_ he thought, and then a brilliant flash of light blinded him.

By sheer will he brought himself out of the vision, pushed the Force out of his mind, until he could feel only the hard angles of the chair arms, see only the interior control panels of the meditation chamber. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest.

Was this the future ? Luke wanted to kill him ? But why ? They were blood, they were father and son. He was going to train him, teach him all the ways of the Force, so that together they could bring peace and justice to the Galaxy. Why would his own son want to kill him ? Unless...

Unless Luke knew that his father had attacked his mother right before his birth, had contributed to her death. Unless Obi-Wan had told Luke of the slaughter at the Jedi Temple. Unless his own son hated him for what he had done.

He realized he did not know this boy, did not know what dwelled in his heart. _Not you, too, Luke. Don't you turn against me._


	16. Ghosts

**Chapter 16 : Ghosts**

He had been caught red-handed.Even if by some possibility Luke had kept his thoughts of vengeance hidden from Master Yoda before, it was all out in the open now, after his vision in the cave.

"Hmmm," Yoda said with a sound that said both nothing and everything.

Maybe Yoda was right; revenge was a motive unbefitting a Jedi. The past could not be changed and the dead could not be revived by any action he could take.But _acceptance_ was such a hard lesson. More difficult than moving stones, or using the Force to somersault his body, acceptance didn't even require the Force. It was simply a state of mind, but one that seemed pivotal to becoming a Jedi.

Accept your destiny, accept the things that happened to you, feel no anger, no hatred, no passion. Just be. And he was trying, both to please Yoda and because the alternative was rather frightening. He'd lost many hours of sleep trying to figure out the meaning of his vision in the cave, to understand why his own face had been inside Vader's mask. Because if he were to strike Vader down, he would become like Vader ? If he struck Vader down, it would be like killing himself ? Underneath, Vader was like him ? Wow, that one was really crazy.

Whatever it meant, it was certainly a warning.It felt like the Dark Side crouched behind every tree, just waiting for him to make a wrong move.The Dark Side could come in through so many doors : anger, fear, greed, love.To avoid being seduced by the Dark Side, whatever that really meant, he would have to work to be exactly the Jedi that Yoda described : peaceful, serene, nonreactive, always in control.

He was nowhere near being that person. He _felt_ too much, especially about his friends. Back on Tatooine, his feelings and his loyalty had always served him well, but that was before he knew of the Force. Being sensitive to the Force was a gift, but he now realized that it was also a burden.The Force was a powerful weapon that could destroy as easily as it could protect.

Why hadn't Master Yoda just left his X-wing submerged in the swamp ? If he didn't have the option of leaving, he would have had to stay and finish his training, accept that he could not help Han and Leia. But with the X-wing available, there was no way he couldn't go to help them. As much as he had learned from Yoda, he had not yet learned to be detached

He looked around on the ground for any piece of gear he might have forgotten. Nope, all on board except for one thing. He closed his eyes, focused his mind, and used the Force to set R2 on the upper deck of the X-wing.

------

Sometimes he wondered how much of the future Palpatine actually saw through the Force, and how much of his predictive ability was simply the result of following logic. He himself could have impressed his crew, said that he forsaw that the _Millennium Falcon_ would come to Bespin, but that would be lying to them. Once Boba Fett had relayed that the Corellian ship had not blasted into hyperspace, but instead drifted off at sub-lightspeed when the fleet dispersed, the list of possible destinations had shrunk considerably. When Fett added that the _Millennium Falcon_ had once been owned by Lando Calrissian, the administrator of Bespin and a known associate of the current owner of the freighter, the answer had become obvious. He was going to have to give Fett a little extra for that last bit of information.

It bothered him some that he could duplicate Palpatine's methods so easily. Calrissian, a smuggler at heart no matter how official his position at Bespin, eagerly went for the deal that promised diversion of Imperial attention from his untaxed business. People were so willing to do what you asked if you just held the right prize in front of them.

When the _Millennium Falcon_ landed on Bespin, his hopes rose when he felt a glimmer of the Force onboard the freighter. Watching the passengers come down the ramp, he was disappointed to see the source of Force energy was not Luke, but Leia Organa, whose incidental Force talent he had already noted. Not his son, but a prominent Rebel, and hopefully one that would lead him to Luke.

He could accept having a Rebel for a son. He couldn't accept Luke being a Jedi. It wasn't that he disagreed with everything the Jedi had taught him; quite the contrary he found himself frequently using some aspect of his early training. The skills themselves were not the issue, although he would rather be teaching Luke himself. The problem lay in the philosophy that would be shoved down Luke's throat if he indeed were being taught by a survivor of the Purge.

If Luke was being indoctrinated in the Jedi way, no doubt he was being told to never act out of emotion, to forsake any attachments he might have, and to fear the Dark Side as if it could swallow him whole. If Luke believed all of those things, it would make his real training that much more difficult.

He remembered his first encounter with Dooku; he had looked upon the Sith Lord as evil incarnate, an absolute enemy to everything he believed in. He would have dismissed anything Dooku had to offer without even thinking about it. Continued Jedi training would make Luke equally resistant to everything he needed to teach him, everything Luke would have to learn so that they could overthrow Palpatine.

An ordinary Jedi, even an extraordinary Jedi, would have no hope of victory against the Emperor. There were days that if he had to listen to Palpatine's story of defeating Yoda in the Senate chamber one more time, he would have pulled off his helmet and ended it all right there. So, unless Luke had miraculously become stronger than Yoda, more than Jedi skills would be required to accomplish Palpatine's end. Those that said the Dark Side was not stronger were either lying or had never felt that absolute firestorm of Force energy that came with anger and hate, had never experienced Force lightning ravaging their body. Luke would have to learn it all if the Galaxy was to be freed from Palpatine's rule.

If Luke was like himself at that age, he would believe that any act taken in anger would grab him like quicksand and begin an inexorable slide to the Dark Side.Luke's Jedi training must be halted immediately, before his mind became totally closed to the full spectrum of Force skills. Chasing Luke across the Galaxy had proved far too inefficient, and it was time to try a different tactic.If Luke _was_ like himself, then the boy would be unable to resist a call for help, especially from close friends.The Rebel captives could be put to good use, to create a mental distress signal that would draw Luke to Bespin. He hoped his son would forgive him for using a manipulation worthy of Palpatine, and promised to explain everything when they were finally face to face.

------

They _really _didn't want him to go. Master Yoda and Ben had tried their hardest to change his mind, but he knew he had to leave, couldn't let his friends suffer because of him. He was in his X-wing now, streaking through hyperspace to a destination he had only felt through the Force. Traveling at lightspeed in a small ship was a wondrous journey compared to the insulated experience it was on board large craft. The starlines swirled all around his cockpit, making him feel like a part of space itself. When he had the ship on droid control, he liked to lean back in his seat and enjoy the visual display. For this trip, though, he was maintaining full alertness, with the ship on manual control.

While he waited for the Force to tell him when to drop out of hyperspace, he tried to grasp the importance they had placed on him completing his Jedi training without interruption. Back on Tatooine sometimes he had to skip school at the height of harvest season to help Uncle Owen; he'd always made up the lessons he missed by the end of the year. He wasn't sure why this was different. Once he'd rescued Han and Leia, he'd return to Dagobah and finish his training.

It probably had to do with the bantha in the room that nobody wanted to talk about, the fact that they all knew Vader would be at the city in the clouds. He himself had purposefully refrained from discussing that part of his vision, concentrating on Leia and Han's pain and distress. Yoda hadn't mentioned it at first, either, but when it became clear that he couldn't be dissuaded from leaving, suddenly both Yoda and Ben began warning him about taking on Vader.

He wasn't leaving his training for that purpose, though, no matter what Master Yoda thought of his vision in the cave. He was going to rescue Han and Leia. If he had to face Vader, he wouldn't back down, but he wasn't going to seek him out, either. And how the Emperor got into the picture, he wasn't sure at all. He was just one Rebel; why would the Emperor be interested in him ? It almost seemed like Yoda and Ben were holding something back, not telling him the whole story.

They had nothing to worry about; he was Luke Skywalker, the destroyer of the Death Star. He could take care of himself. Like the Death Star mission, he was just going to get in, get the job done, and get out. He'd be back on Dagobah in no time.

------

His son was coming. He could feel it, the spotlight of Force energy that was drawing near, the one without a familiar mental signature attached.

With all the years of effort he had invested in trying to find Luke, his son's imminent arrival should have filled him with joy. Instead, his stomach was in knots, and his thoughts were flying out of control. It didn't help that the view from any window in Cloud City was reminiscent of the view from his apartment high up in Imperial City. And of the view from Padme's apartment.

The stronger the Force signal became, the more the past roared up to torment him._What if he asks me about his mother ? What do I tell him about her ?_

Her face filled his mind so strongly that it brought other memories, long surpressed, and he not only saw her face, but remembered her scent, felt the softness of her skin. He remembered her kiss, what it felt like to lose himself in her body. But most of all he remembered what it was like to feel safe in her embrace, to have a place to let down his guard. His eyes brimmed with tears, and once again he couldn't live without her, even though he knew he already had.

In the unfolding images in his mind, one moment was almost hidden, such was the glare of what came after, the event after it so hardwired that all it took was a lapse in his defenses, and he was back on that landing platform on Mustafar.That memory was exquisitely vivid, the moment when he reached out with the Force not as a caress, but as a punishment, when he tried not to save her, but for a moment, thought of killing her.

Washed out in the blinding glare of that moment were the events that came before, the words that caused the moment to happen. The point at which he first realized she was not coming with him, despite all he had done for her, all he would give for her.She was choosing to leave his side, even though he had sacrificed everything he was just to be with her._You're going down a path I can't follow...Because of what you've done._

He heard the words in her voice, repeated again and again, until the voice changed, and it was no longer feminine, but masculine._Because of what you've done, you've gone down a path I can't follow, _said the voice, except that it was no longer Padme's but his son's.

_Why didn't I stop that day I saw you on Tatooine ? I could have made Owen understand that it was me, there were things I could have told him that only he and I would have known. I could have held you, and stroked your hair until you fell asleep,like my mother used to do for me. I would have come to know your mind so that I could find you anywhere. I could have let you know me so that you would not be afraid of me. You could have grown up knowing that your father loves you._

_We belong together, Luke. Whatever they've told you about me, it's probably a lie. They were afraid of me. They didn't trust me and they never understood me. I did kill them all, that part is not a lie, but if they told you I did it for power, that I did it out of bloodlust, they are wrong. I did it to save her, to save your mother. Once, I too believed that the Dark Side was a stealthy predator that would consume my heart if I stepped off the Jedi path. So when my Master told me that I had to commit a horrendous act in order to become strong with the power of the Dark Side, I believed him. I believed that killing the Jedi was such a terrible thing that it would cause the Dark Side to fill me with the strength to save your mother's life._

_You want to know what it was really like ? You want to know how it felt to destroy the Jedi Order ? I'll tell you how it was : You are not angry with them when you cut them down, but rather ashamed when they recognize you, and you want that bewildered look to pass from their eyes.You are barely able to lead the clone troops through the Jedi Temple because you have to stop and vomit behind every pillar because you are so revolted by what you are doing. You keep killing faster and faster, not because you feel the passion of righteousness, but because you need it to be over, you need it to stop, but you cannot stop until they are all dead. You think that for having committed these murders you will now be infused with a mystical Dark power. Instead you find the Force is a unity, the division of Dark and Light only the creation of men. You have started down a dark path, and it does now dominate your destiny, but not because you have changed, but because your actions have taken you so far from where you started that there is no road back, and all that is left for you is to go further into the darkness. _

_I didn't mean to end up here, Luke. Can you understand that ? Can you see past their lies, can you see that I am not evil ? Don't forsake me, Luke. Only together can we set right that which went astray. Only together._

------

He didn't like it, the ease with which his son's name fell out of every crewman's mouth. He had guarded that secret for so long, that it seemed an obscenity to have it pronounced so freely. After their conversation outside the asteroid field, Palpatine must have commed every ship in the Imperial Navy to announce that the Empire was in search of Luke Skywalker.

Luke's capture would be a triumph for the Navy, a prize for the Emperor. That's not what he wanted to happen. He and Luke needed privacy, time together, so that he could explain the past, give his son time to understand why his father had made the choices he had.They needed to complete Luke's training away from prying eyes that might report what they saw to the Emperor.

He thought he had the solution.Carbon-freezing. It was a little risky, but unusual problems called for unusual solutions. If Luke was safely frozen, it would eliminate the possibility of accidental or intentional injury when Luke was taken into Imperial custody. If everything went as planned, he would spirit Luke away to a secret location, and revive him quickly before hibernation sickness set in. He might even concoct a story that Luke did not survive the freezing process. Palpatine would see through the ruse eventually, but it might gain them that precious commodity : time

First he had to make sure that Bespin's carbon-freezing chamber was capable of placing a living being safely in hibernation. Another of the captured Rebels, the smuggler Han Solo, would serve as the test case. At least it would get Fett off his back. While Fett's services had been instrumental in finding the crew of the _Millennium Falcon_, he could do without the bounty hunter's continual insistance on taking Solo _now._

He was watching the Rebels' melodrama unfold now : the futile protest of the loyal Wookiee friend, the passionate kiss between lovers about to be parted, the declaration of love from the Princess to Solo.

"I know," was Solo's only response to her as he was lowered into the carbon-freezing chamber.

He shook his head inside his helmet._Coward. You don't know if you'll see her again.You should tell her what you feel. She wants you to._

The blast of super-cooled liquid eliminated the possibility of Solo saying anything more. His carbonite encased body was lifted from the chamber and unceremoniously dumped on the upper platform.

Leia Organa's face was filled with horror as she looked upon the frozen slab of carbonite. Something in him wanted to soothe her mind, to ease her fears, and bring her some measure of comfort. The look of hatred she directed at him said she might not appreciate the gesture.

"Well, Calrissian ?" he said. "Did he survive ?"

"Yes, he's alive," came the reply. "And in perfect hibernation."

So, it would work. "He's all yours, bounty hunter," he said."Reset the chamber for Skywalker."

He wanted them all out of the room : the stormtroopers, the Rebels, the Imperial officer who felt compelled to tell him what he already knew, that Luke's X-wing had landed at Cloud City. He wanted them all out before Luke entered the chamber. This was a family matter, not a public display. He ordered Calrissian to take the remaining Rebels to his ship, and the Imperial troops followed behind to ensure Calrissian's cooperation.

He was at last alone in the chamber. He could feel a presence in the Force that must be Luke moving steadily towards him.Almost here. The moment was almost here when Luke would walk into the room, and they would at last be face to face.Even though he knew there was a strong possibility things might not go smoothly between them, he hadn't completely abandoned his dreams of Luke. For a moment, he didn't think of Palpatine, or the Jedi, or the Galactic Civil War. For a moment, he was just a man waiting to see his son.

------

This was different. It felt like the volume and brightness of life had been turned up all the way. He hadn't noticed it back in the swamps of Dagobah, where he'd grown accustomed to the environment. But here, in this city among the clouds, on this planet his navcomputer told him was named Bespin, in these new surroundings it was like the planet had ten suns. He felt things he'd never been aware of before.

He could sense Leia somewhere in the building, the physical distress that he'd felt on Dagobah replaced by a new emotional sorrow. He could feel through closed doors which rooms were occupied. He knew which way to turn down hallways that he'd never walked before.

_So this is what it's like to be a Jedi. _

Multiple sensations bombarded him at once, and he had to work at keeping himself focused.He suddenly knew that a group was approaching the hallway intersection, though he wasn't sure if it was the Force or the sound of footsteps that arrived in his head first. He peered around the corner to watch his perception come true. Why did it feel like Han had just gone by when he knew he hadn't seen him ?

Once the entire party had passed by he ran after them to the next point of cover. The blaster fire that almost hit him said someone had noticed him. He returned fire until his assailant quit. He turned down an adjacent corridor that emptied just ahead of the next group of stormtroopers.

This time many Imperials saw him, and blaster fire erupted all around. In the commotion he heard first the bark of Chewie, and then a frantic warning from Leia. "Luke, it's a trap! " she managed to shout out twice.

It didn't matter if it was a trap. He was here to rescue her, and Han and Chewie, so where she was going, he was going. As soon as the blaster fire stopped, he moved forward after her captors.

Even though he was only seconds behind them, they had vanished. The hallway fell abruptly silent. No footsteps, no voices, no zips from a blaster. Nothing to indicate where he should go next.

He drew in a deep breath and reached out with the Force the way Yoda had taught him. The corridors around him felt empty, devoid of life, except for a notable presence in the Force. It felt like it was watching him, very calmly, very quietly, but lacking the comforting manner of Master Yoda's presence. Even though Yoda was strong enough with the Force to have moved his submerged X-wing as if it had been a pebble, the Jedi Master's presence never exuded power. The presence he felt now was not like that at all, its stillness marred by flares of Force energy that flicked out from it like the corona around a stellar eclipse.

As he walked on he knew he was coming closer to the presence, but he couldn't turn away. He should be trying to find Han and Leia, but he couldn't stop himself, even though he knew the presence could only be Vader.

He stepped through a doorway and the white hallways of Bespin yielded to dark metal. The door slammed shut behind him, but he barely took notice. The soldier in him should have been concerned, should have looked for a way out, but escape didn't even cross his mind. He finally understood what Ben had meant when he spoke of destiny. He was supposed to be here, he could feel it.

What seemed like solid floor became an elevator platform, and he rode it while it whooshed to the top of its travel. The presence was so close now he ought to be able to see it, but the room he found himself in was dense with shadows. He looked down at the blaster in his hand. Not the weapon of a Jedi Knight. He holstered the blaster and ran his fingers over his lightsaber.

He didn't know if his father could communicate with him from the afterlife the way that Ben did, but if ever there was a time to try, this was it. _Father, if you can hear me, just know I'll make you proud._


	17. Dreams of You

**Chapter 17 : Dreams of You**

The elevator platform sprang up from the lower level, and there he was. His son. Flesh and blood, not a fantasy son in his head, not a three year old boy playing in the desert sand. His grown-up son.

The dim light kept him from seeing Luke's face, but he didn't need to. He could feel him through the Force, and that told him so much more. Luke, glowing as brilliantly in the Force as ever, but with a new edge, no doubt due to the focusing of his abilities through the lens of training. Unself-conscious, making no effort to mask his feelings, Luke's confidence and sense of purpose bristled around him.The boy reached out with the Force, searching, aware, touched him lightly, and withdrew.

He felt as proud of his son now as he would have at watching the boy's first steps. He realized he was smiling.

He took it all in : Luke's cool, controlled movements at odds with the almost fiery thoughts streaming from his mind.The military uniform. The blaster clutched in his hand instead of a lightsaber. He was not too late. Whatever training Luke had begun, it was far from complete.

He flicked on the overhead lights with his mind. " The Force is strong with you, young Skywalker, but you are not a Jedi yet."

Luke turned towards him, located him at the top level platform, and met his gaze with an unflinching stare. The boy advanced up the steps of the platform, athletic and lithe, moving without hesitation.

His smile faded. He saw new details as Luke approached, details that were familiar. He could see Luke clearly now, his face exactly as it was in his vision. The same tan Rebel flightsuit. And the lightsaber the boy held _was _his own, the one he had crafted before the boy was born.

Luke was silent, standing before him with an expression that matched the one he bore in the vision, intense, unblinking, almost predatory. He prepared to draw his own lightsaber, but kept it sheathed, hoping against hope.

------

He was supposed to be here. As if his own feelings weren't enough to convince him of that fact, Vader addressed him by name.

_So, you know who I am. You know who I am because my father was a Jedi, a powerful Jedi. You know who I am because I am to be the avenger. This moment has already been written, and I will fulfill my destiny._

As he climbed the steps to the upper platform where Vader awaited, he repeated the thought-_this moment is already written-_ to steady his nerves, because the closer he got, the more he realized how big Vader really was. Not just in the physical sense, though there was no denying the intimidation factor present in two meters of black armor, but in the Force. It was like walking up to a supernova.

They were face to face now, no words between them, none necessary because their roles were already established. The murderer and the avenger, the hand of evil and the hand of justice. Yoda's words came to him-_Do or do not._ Luke activated his lightsaber, and took aim at Darth Vader.

------

The ignition of Luke's lightsaber snuffed out his last bit of hope._So, this is how it will be._

The boy was not subtle in his technique. His son's lightsaber came swinging at his head, the boy's full weight thrown behind it, as if the lethal power of the lightsaber was not weapon enough. Passionate, but not smart. He met the blows easily, pushed Luke backwards off his feet.The boy picked himself up off the floor, came back at him without missing a beat.

_Ah, the persistence of youth._

He yielded ground, moved back carefully in response to Luke's unrelenting pressure._ Who are you fighting for, son ? Whose honor do you think you are avenging ? Obi-Wan's ? The Jedi ? Condemned me already, have you ?_

Countering the energy of Luke's swings was giving him a work-out like he hadn't had in years. The boy needed to refine his style, but at the moment his intense drive was making up for his lack of knowledge. His self-confidence shown through, his mind unguarded and honest. The boy was performing amazingly well considering his level of training.

"You have learned much, young one," he said.

"You'll find I'm full of surprises," came the retort.

His own insolence reflected back at him did not strike him as amusing._Time for you to learn who you're sparring with, son._

He undercut the blade of Luke's lightsaber with his own, and flung the handle out of Luke's hand. An inhibited strike in front of the boy sent his son tumbling down the stairs. He leapt off the platform after him, using the Force to glide through a controlled fall.

Now weaponless, the look of hostility had left Luke's face and was replaced by concern, but not panic. His eyes darted about the room, the roiling activity in his mind completely palpable in the Force.

_We just need to focus all that energy in the right direction, Luke._

"Your destiny lies with me, Skywalker. Obi-Wan knew this to be true."

That statement drew Luke's eyes into his own. "No," was the only reply the boy could muster, and he failed to notice that the stage of the carbon-freezing chamber was beginning to lower into the pit.

_Forgive me for what I'm about to do, Luke, but it seems to be the only way._ He stepped towards Luke, and as the boy retreated he fell directly into the open chamber.

"All too easy," he said, activating the control lever with his mind. "Perhaps you are not as strong as the Emperor thought."

He peered into the chamber, but Luke was not there. A noise drew his attention upwards, and he spotted Luke in the overhead mechanism. The smile returned to his face.

"Impressive, most impressive," he said as he lashed at the bundle of hoses Luke was using as a scaffold.

The boy somersaulted down from his high perch and directed a blast of cold Tibanna gas from a severed hose straight at him while simultaneously summoning his lightsaber to his hand. The stream of escaping gas momentarily pushed him backwards, and by the time he had recovered, Luke was ready, ignited lightsaber in hand.

The boy was thinking on his feet, keeping his mind under control."Obi-Wan has taught you well."

Now if could just get his son to stop attacking him. He remembered the day when Palpatine revealed himself to be a Sith Lord, a time when Palpatine was not yet his master. He had almost killed him on the spot, but for the then Supreme Chancellor's deft deflection of his intention by a plea for him to use the Dark Side. The call to step into the forbidden zone, to abandon his Jedi training, had made him reconsider his plan, and deflated his determination.

"You have controlled your fear," he said. "Now release your anger. Only your hatred can destroy me."

The confused look on Luke's face said his words had hit the mark. Uncertainty was now clouding the boy's mind.However much he might loathe Palpatine, he had to agree that his methods were effective. He launched a new round of blows with his lightsaber, but Luke held enough focus to return them successfully.

Luke switched from defense to offense and he stepped back from his son's attack, only to find he had misjudged the edge of the platform, and found himself falling the three meter drop and landing flat on his back.

_Glad there was no one there to see that. _

------

The Dark Side _wasn't_ stronger. Here he was, a half trained Jedi youth, and he'd just sent Darth Vader tumbling backwards off the edge of the platform. Sure, Vader had disarmed him once, and maneuvered him just right so that he fell into that cold pit, but he'd overcome it all. He'd used the Force to leap out of the pit, to call his fallen lightsaber to his hand, and now he'd just battled Vader back over the brink.

He was worried that his emotions were skating dangerously close to the line, that his strength was coming too easily from his own anger. But he'd been able to pull himself back, especially when Vader tried to entice him to use the Dark Side.He'd held steadfast in his beliefs, and still gotten the better of his opponent.

He jumped down off the platform into the darkness. Time to finish what he'd started.

_------_

From the reactor control room located beneath the carbon freezing facility, he reached out with the Force to locate Luke, and realized he still could not recognize his son's presence. He felt _a_ presence in the Force, however, moving towards the same control room.

He thought Luke would sense him as well, but when the boy appeared in the room he seemed lost until he heard the sound of the ventilator. Upon recognizing the sound Luke turned towards him, and reignited his lightsaber , the expression of determination back on his face.

_You don't give up do you ? Perhaps you are stronger than the Emperor thought. Let's find out what you really know, son._

He held his own crimson blade in front of him in defense position, then used his mind to pull a metal cylinder from the wall and throw it at Luke. The boy swung at the flying cylinder with his lightsaber, slicing it, but doing nothing to halt its momentum.

_Ah, we just found the limit of your experience, Luke. You need to use your mind to stop it, not your lightsaber._

He stepped forward to engage Luke with his lightsaber. The boy was comfortable with this form of battle, and met his blows with seemingly undiminished strength and resolve. He sent another container flying towards Luke's back, and this time the boy lost his focus, neither sensing the metal box before it struck him nor warding it off .

------

He'd been conned, given the false impression that he was able to hold his own against Vader. It was now being revealed to him quite clearly that previously he had seen only a portion of Vader's power. With casual ease, Vader was able to simultaneously engage him in a lightsaber duel and hurl things at him from around the room. Not just levitate objects, but _throw _them with enough speed that they hit him, they almost knocked him off his feet. He felt chagrined that he had ignored Yoda's warning, that he'd been felled not by hatred, but by pride.

His strength was fading, and the adrenalin that had kept him going was quickly running out. He slashed ineffectually with his lightsaber, unable to stop the assault of airborne metal. From the corner of his eye he could see Vader passively observing him, ignoring the opportunity to charge in for the victory. He was being toyed with, and he didn't know how he was going to get himself out of this mess.

------

He stepped back from the boy and lowered his lightsaber, continuing to use the Force to throw objects at Luke.This method of attack completely befuddled the boy, robbing him of his concentration.. He felt of the boy's unguarded mind, committing to memory the characteristics that were unique to Luke. He swept past the surface feelings of desperation, felt the inner core of resolve, tried to feel for the source of his son's unrelenting opposition.The knife edge of righteous indignation and judgement he thought he would find was not there.

A thought struck him._Is it possible he doesn't know ?_

His own focus became wrapped in that idea, and the piece of machinery he was tossing at Luke slipped from his control and went crashing through the enormous window facing the reactor shaft. The pressure gradient sucked the air out of the control room at high velocity. He grabbed onto a support column to counter the wind, but Luke had no such protection, and he watched him get pulled out through the gaping hole. He strode to the window to see Luke hanging precariously off the outer walkway.

Enough of this. Somebody was going to get hurt. This was not going the way he had thought it would. There had been neither the joyous reunion that he had dreamed of, but not expected, nor the lash of accusations from Luke that he was prepared to answer. If he could just get Luke to stop fighting so that they could talk it all over.

He walked down to the level that was adjacent to the outer walkway.He held his breath, and prepared to mount an overwhelming assault that would bring an end to this counterproductive battle.When Luke stepped close to him, unaware of his presence, he flew at his son, no longer keeping his blows inhibited.

He unleashed his real power, driving the boy backwards down a narrow gantry, finally pushing him off his feet."You are beaten. It is useless to resist. Don't let yourself be destroyed, as Obi-Wan did."

He felt Luke's mind, sensed that the boy expected to die._I don't want to kill you, Luke.You're my son. I only want to protect you._

The boy found a last reserve of strength, and scrambled to his feet, engaging his lightsaber once again. This time the boy found an opening and he felt the burn of Luke's lightsaber through his armor into his flesh. His body, sensitized to pain and damage, flashed him back to Mustafar, and the pain transformed into rage. He struck out and disarmed his opponent without even thinking.

Except that his opponent was his son, who was now clutching the stump of his right arm, the look of agony on his face all too familiar._I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Luke, stop fighting me. I can't let Palpatine have you._

"There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you."

The boy in front of him still said nothing, only backed further out on the gantry, further away from him. This boy did not respond at all like the son he had imagined. Could the child really be so cold in his need for vengeance that he felt none of the connection between them ? Did he want nothing from his father, not even explanations ?

"Luke," he said, saying the name out loud for the first time,"You do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me, and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the Galaxy."

He was offering him everything, and yet the boy still increased the distance between them. "I'll never join you," came the response.

The answer was too dogmatic and quick. _You really don't know, do you ? That's why you're fighting me. You don't know who I am._

"If you only knew the power of the Dark Side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father."

Luke was as far out on the gantry as was possible, the wind whipping mightly around him, but his voice came through as strongly as if it were on his helmet comlink. "He told me enough. He told me you killed him."

_You took everything else from me,Obi-Wan, and still you needed to rob me of my son ?_

"No, _I_ am your father."

Luke did not look enlightened."No...no...that's not true. That's impossible."

"Search your feelings. You _know_ it to be true." _Can't you feel it, Luke, the connection between us ?_

------

He hated that he couldn't know the answer through his own memories. To know who his father was, he had to trust the person who was telling him. Growing up, he had no reason to doubt Owen and Beru, not until Ben told him differently.Now Ben's word was in question. It was all a matter of trust, and he hated that the person it seemed he should trust the most was the monster in front of him. It seemed he should trust him because when Vader could have killed him, he held back, pleaded with him instead. It seemed that he should trust him because when he thought of Vader as his father , he felt a spreading tranquility in the Force.

But if Vader was telling him the truth, then the whole rest of his life was a lie. He wasn't the son of a war hero, the instrument of justice, he was a product of darkness, an unwitting heir to murder. He didn't want his life to be a lie. He didn't even want destiny anymore, not if destiny's face was always this cruel.

------

The feeling did not bring Luke comfort."Noooooo...nooooo...," he wailed.

"Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has forseen this. It is your destiny." _Even if you cannot accept me, you must accept that. _

"Join me, and together we can rule the Galaxy as father and son." _Do you know how long I have held that dream, Luke ? Since the moment I saw you,son, the moment I saw you._

He saw the edges of that dream begin to unravel as Luke looked only for a way out, not a way back. A terrible clarity came to his son's face. He extended his arm even farther out to the boy, trying to make contact. "Come with me. It is the only way."

A strange expression, conveying both victory and self satisfaction, never left Luke's face, not even when he tumbled backwards into the unending depth of the reactor shaft.He stayed with him as he fell, used the Force to soften the boy's impact, felt the winds of Bespin's atmosphere buffet the boy's body.He could do nothing more for him from here.

He let go of the Luke's mind to make his way back to his shuttle.An Imperial officer ran up to him as he headed to the landing platform.

"M'Lord, while you were tracking down Skywalker, the Rebels were able to escape in the _Millennium Falcon._"

_Brave of you to tell me that. Lucky for you, I have more important things on my mind. _

" We will deal with the Rebels later," he said on his way to the ramp of the _lambda_ class shuttle."Tell my Star Destroyer to prepare for my arrival."

------

His mind found him, even before his eyes picked up the sight of the _Millennium Falcon _working to evade the TIE fighters launched from _Executor._ The boy was exhausted, spent, almost to the point of unconsciousness, not even the agony of his severed arm enough to keep him lucid.

_Luke, can we start over ? I didn't mean to hurt you. I want to explain everything to you.I thought you knew. I would have done everything differently. Can we just start over ? _

He knew the boy needed rest, but he couldn't stand waiting. "Luke," he called through the Force.

"Father," the boy answered, waking with a start.

His heart was glad for the small token of acknowledgement. "Son, come with me."

He felt the boy consider the offer, then waver, and finally, turn away. An image of Obi-Wan, the old man Obi-Wan, came drifting from Luke's mind.

He closed his mind to Luke, stung by the rejection. He turned from the window to face the interior of _Executor's_ bridge, comforted only by the privacy afforded by his mask. He though of Padme', lying on the landing platform at Mustafar, how he never had the chance to get down on his knees and tell her how sorry he was.Never got to beg for her forgiveness, never got to feel the relief of that second chance. He thought of Han Solo, not knowing whether he was coming out of that pit alive, and still only able to say, "I know."

_I will not be that coward._

------

If he just stayed still, it wasn't so bad. If he didn't open his eyes, or move his legs, or bump that place where his hand used to be, he could lull himself into a false sleep, a plane of nonexistence. He tried to stay in that space between unconsciousness and awareness, to dull the pain by not thinking about it. But then he would drift towards real sleep, and it would feel like he was falling, and the sensation made him jump to catch himself.The muscle tension would light his arm on fire and his head would feel like it was being squeezed between the plates of a garbage compactor. Then the cycle would start over and he'd try again to stay absolutely motionless.

It was into this state of enforced nothingness that he heard his name, plain as day. It didn't make his head hurt like the sound of laser cannon hitting the ship, and it wasn't coming in through his ears, but it was in his head all the same. The impulse to respond was immediate, the feel natural, as if he'd said it all his life, though he'd never said it to anyone, ever.

"Father."

It didn't even hurt when he sat up, as though the voice in his head cleansed him of pain._ Son, come with me_, it said. A part of him wanted to do just that, to give in to the persuasive pull of the voice, to have a place to put his trust. He made himself ignore the voice.It would be wrong to follow it. He had promised he wouldn't fall. Even if he had been beaten, he would not give in. He thought of Ben, wondered why Ben would have lied to him.

Vader's presence withdrew from his mind. He didn't want to be alone if it decided to come back. He pulled himself out of the medical bunk and made his way to the bridge of the_ Falcon._ He must look really bad, because the stranger who had rescued him from the weather vane took hold of his good arm, flashed him a look of concern. He nodded in acknowledgement, and stood near Leia, too wrung out to be of any use, but comforted by her company.

Through half open eyes he recognized the unending length of a Super Star Destroyer looming directly in front of the _Falcon._ As the freighter swooped by the flank of the Destroyer, his mind touched something familiar.

"It's Vader," he said aloud, although it was really to himself.

So, the communication ran both ways. Vader's mind welcomed his, and the voice was in his head once more.

_Luke, it is your destiny,_ the voice said. And then the torrent began. It was one thing to sense another's feelings in the Force, but this was like being caught in a Tatooine sandstorm, with a wind so violent that it could pull you off your feet, the sand capable of flaying the skin from your body. It was messy and jumbled and intense. It was an image of himself, very small, nestled against black armor, it was a metal hand tousling his hair the way that Owen never had, it was standing on the bridge of a Star Destroyer, it was a conversation that required no words, it was striding side by side through a hangar full of fighters, the troops at crisp attention. And through it all was woven despair and anguish because none of these things had come to pass.He shut his eyes against the onslaught. The emotion was pure and undeniable, and it was for him.

"Ben, why didn't you tell me ?"

------

He reached for Luke one more time. "Luke, it is your destiny."

He felt Luke recognize the contact, and then he sent him everything he had, every hope, every dream he ever had for them together as father and son. He sent the images, the feelings, he sent the pain, the despair, the pride, and his love. He sent it all. He felt Luke turn to Obi-Wan again, but this time he kept the link between them open.

Open, until it was ripped apart by the _Millennium Falcon_ entering hyperspace.

He felt hollow, ravaged by the very destiny he tried to show Luke. Why was he fool enough to believe there was ever such a thing as a second chance ?

As he left the bridge, he met Piett's eyes, saw the anxiety in them as his faithful admiral wondered how much of his own life remained.

_Don't worry Piett. The failure is not yours, it's mine._


	18. The Road Back

**Chapter 18 The Road Back**

With his cabin finally at full pressure, Darth Vader began removing the components of his life support suit. The helmet. The upper portion of the face mask. The lower portion with the hermetic seal. He swung the armored breastplate up over his head and looked to see the damage Luke's lightsaber had done. A seven centimeter rent in the right arm of the padded leather suit, where the lightsaber had just slid under the durasteel breastplate.

He continued undressing, removing the control belt and the tabard so that he could free his upper body of the leather padding. The wound over the top of his right biceps was a typical lightsaber wound : clean, cauterized,and at five centimeters, not even requiring the attention of a medic. As he rubbed bacta ointment over the edges of the wound, he found it was only moderately painful. Not the sort of injury that demanded the price of Luke's hand.

Just another crime to add to his sentence, the punishment that the Force was not done inflicting on him.The first slap had been the loss of Padme', that pain sharp and deep, but capable of being hidden, so that it only hurt if he touched it. The second rebuke had been the curse of the suit, the very thing that he was ever so carefully removing and placing gently on his bed so that it was not damaged.The thing that he treated so tenderly because it was necessary for his survival. Necessary, unless he chose to live the remainder of his life in a little box of a room like this one, which was palatial compared to the sphere he used as a workstation.

The suit was not an exquisite pain like Padme's death, but a dull and nagging ache that never left him.He would have thought that nearly twenty five years of imprisonment in the suit, never to feel another's touch, never to feel the warmth of a sun, to always be reminded of his own physical fragility, certainly that must be penance enough to erase his debt to the Force. But maybe some acts were beyond forgiveness, because this new punishment was the most agonizing of all.

Watching his son risk death rather than come to his side cut him like nothing else. Half of that boy was physically the same as himself, and yet he might as well have been a stranger for all that connection meant to Luke. Not even the revelation of his own dream, for them to rule the Galaxy as father and son, had any impact on Luke. If anything, the clarification of their relationship seemed to only make matters worse.The horror in Luke's eyes and in his voice as he tried to deny the truth was nearly as painful as that final look of triumph when Luke found a way to evade his destiny.

And as heart-rending as it had been to watch Luke fall, he couldn't stop replaying that moment.The boy had many fine qualities, courage and determination among them, but most of all he had an inner core of strength that did not bend, no matter how hard he was pushed. That look of fierce defiance on his son's face, even if it was directed at him, was a thing of beauty._Can you teach me that, Luke ?_

And there he saw it, the reason why Luke's rejection was so excruciating.He liked this boy, he admired this boy, and it crushed him to think that his son did not find him worthy of the same feelings. He saw himself reflected in the boy's eyes, without the filter of his own defenses, without the spin of Palpatine's machinations, and he at last admitted to himself that it had been wrong. Even if they hadn't trusted him, even if they had let him down, even if to refuse Palpatine's order meant he had no hope of saving her, it had been wrong. A horrendous crime against them all, against the Force. He was ashamed.

_I was supposed to just let you die ?_ He imagined that timeline, and saw that if he had let her die, then he would have been there for Luke. He would have raised him, been a real father, and they would not have ended up at opposite ends of a lightsaber. The thought was no longer a question. _I was supposed to let you die._

His shame made him see things as she had seen them, and for the first time he felt that he could face her, not just look at her from a distance._I saw our son today, Padme'. He is more than I could have ever hoped for, and you would be very proud of him._ _He has your strength._

He realized the room com was going off, might have been for awhile. If he answered it now, without the helmet and mask, it would be in his own voice. He hesitated, then flipped it on.

"What is it ?" he said, the sound oddly liberating.

Piett fumbled on the other end. "Lord Vader ?"

"Who else ?"

Piett recovered with the grace that only he could manage."Lord Vader, the Emperor has summoned _Executor_ back to Imperial Center."

"So be it," he said, and flicked off the com.

Apparently his punishment was not yet complete.

------

They weren't the same any more. He'd grown to cherish their sameness, their common experiences, how they were both orphans with heroic fathers and mothers that had died young. It made him feel like she could understand him, and that he could be a help to her, even if it hardly ever seemed like she needed any. It made all their differences fade away into insignificance.

Now as she sat across the table from him, eating dinner in the mess hall of the Alliance command ship, she didn't know they weren't the same. She did know he'd been through a rough time on Bespin, the physical trauma obvious, the emotional toll less so, though they were too close for him to hide that he was not quite right.

Once she'd asked him,"What happened out there ?"

He'd felt relief at first, thought he was ready to unburden himself of the experience, but when he opened his mouth, the words wouldn't form, and he found himself just staring into her deep brown eyes, unable to say anything.

_You wouldn't understand. You wouldn't understand, because you had a perfect father whose great deeds can never be undone, and I have a inhuman thing for a father,a thing that cut off his own son's hand with the same ease as he would torture prisoners._

And even though he knew it was wrong, even for an ordinary person, let alone a Jedi in training, he envied what she had. Wanted to have the perfect memories, the family that had been real, just like she had. _You wouldn't understand._

He sighed and put down his fork. Nothing on the plate looked appetizing anymore.

"What's the matter, Luke ?" she said.

He could feel her concern, her distress at not knowing what was bothering him. He could feel her love, yes, love, streaming openly from her mind._ Would you still love me if you knew who I really am ?_

He couldn't stand it, her warmth and sincerity, not when he was unable to return it._This is how it must start, the fall to the Dark Side, with little bits of envy, and thoughts that cannot be shared._

He pushed himself away from the dining table. He walked out of the mess hall, not turning his head even once as she called his name over and over behind him.

------

It was not easy finding a place to be alone, not on this converted frigate stuffed to the gunnels with all manner of Alliance personnel. The vessel was the refuge for the core of the Alliance troops, the Empire too close in pursuit since the Battle of Hoth to allow the establishment of a new base planetside. The Alliance was now nomadic, home being wherever its ships were gathered.

He climbed over the contents of a cargo hold brimming full of containers of either food or weapons, he didn't bother to check which. In the far end of the hold he found an empty space in which to sit, surrounded by columns of supplies, hidden from any who might look in. Through a small viewport he could see the Galaxy spectacularly bright in the void of space. He put his hand against the glass, the thick layer of insulating gas between the panes stopping the true coldness of space from coming through, but it was icy enough beneath his palm.

It felt as cold as the night air on Tatooine, as cold as the snow on Hoth, as cold as a Jedi's heart.If only he really were a Jedi, then he would be free of the tormenting emotions rampaging through his head. Of all the lessons left unlearned by not completing his training, emotional detachment was the one that he needed the most.

If he was as serene as a Jedi, then he wouldn't feel betrayed by Ben and Owen's lies about his father.Instead, he though of every occasion in which Owen had told him something about his father, those moments no longer special, but now infuriating because they were all false. And Ben, who he held in such high regard, his words were the most troubling of all, because they were a clear and conscious deception.

If he were a real Jedi, he would have no desire for attachments, and he would not have this hunger for even the illusion of family. His resentment of Leia's memories was not so much that he wanted hers, but that he wanted his own back. He wanted a father he could be proud of, he wanted to believe that once upon a time, he'd had a mother and a father that loved each other. Now he couldn't even be sure he wasn't some sort of creation like the cloned stormtoopers, because what woman would have voluntarily been with _that _? He imagined his mother's sufferings and wished he could have brought her comfort.Perhaps being raised by Beru and Owen had been the most that could be done for him.

If he were a trained Jedi, then he would know that he would never fall to the Dark Side.Instead he wondered if it was a destiny that could not be avoided, because he was his father's son. However fierce their battle had been, the feelings that Vader shared with him, the feelings that traversed space so that their minds touched, were unmistakable. If evil loved him, did that make him evil ? What did his father see in him to make the feeling so strong ? Did Vader see that his temper ran too hot, that he had dark need for vengeance, that he was ripe for the fall ?

And if he were a Jedi Knight, he would not be so weak as to even consider his father's offer.The feeling that troubled him the most was that a part of him wanted that connection between them, that part of him was devastated when that link was broken by the _Falcon_ entering hyperspace. To be the recipient of a love as fierce and primal as what his father sent to him satiated a need in him so deep that it was like an addict finally getting that hit of spice. The feeling was the only honesty he could cling to in this whole bewildering situation. He might be able to tell Leia that Vader was his father, but how could he ever tell her that a part of him wanted it to be true ?

He was no good to the Alliance in this state. He had to find a way to finish his training and purge himself of his emotions, become a real Jedi.He could feel the sting of Yoda's criticism already; he knew the Jedi Master would be disappointed with his performance at Bespin. And there was no way he could hide his tumultuous feelings from Yoda's keen perception; the fact that he'd hesitated even a moment to consider Vader's offer would be exposed, without a doubt.It was impossible to return to Dagobah in this condition.

He would have to do it alone, study, practice, make himself as cold as this viewport. He needed someplace remote, hidden, where he would draw no attention. Home. He could go home to Tatooine, the traditional destination for those that didn't want to be found. Maybe Ben had saved more than just the old lightsaber from the time before the destruction of the Jedi Order. And he would be close to the rendezvous point when it came time to rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt. Tatooine it would be.

The decision brought him a measure of relief, enough that he felt he could look into Leia's eyes to tell her he was leaving.

------

With each step further into the interior of the Imperial Senate, his dream withered a little more. Luke wasn't going to help him overthrow Palpatine and they were not going to rule the Galaxy together. He would spend the rest of his life answering the call of the man who occupied the only open office in the entire Senate complex, the man who so enjoyed sending a continual reminder that he held in one hand the former power of thousands.

Several elevators and three sets of Imperial guards later, he walked into the office that he must have entered a million times, or at least it seemed that way. It had never felt as claustrophobic and stifling as it did now.

"Lord Vader, what a pleasure to see you in person." The Emperor flashed him the political smile that portended trouble."But you have come alone. You must have failed to capture young Skywalker."

"Yes, Master. He did escape."

"Was he more powerful than you ?"

"Of course not. He's a half trained boy, nothing more," he said.

"He outsmarted you ?"

"No, Master. I had him trapped at the end of my lightsaber."

"Then you must have been too soft with him," the Emperor said.

"He would have sustained substantial damage if I pushed any harder.He is only useful if he is taken unharmed, Master." He winced as he said it, remembering Luke's amputated hand.

"He is only useful if he is taken at all. Perhaps we should place someone else in charge of this mission. Someone less..._involved_," Palpatine said.

"I will not allow that," he said, the words out of his mouth before he could soften them.

Palpatine leaned back in his chair, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. He let the words hang in the air until the silence had become uncomfortable.

"I will permit you to remain in charge of young Skywalker. But never forget that I expect results."

"Of course, Master. I will do everything in my power to see that his capture is accomplished." He bowed slightly and turned to exit the room.

The Emperor shook his head as he watched his apprentice disappear down the hallway. _I can only hope the next one is not led about as strongly by his emotions as this one._

------

The first light of dawn separated Luke from the cover of night, making his black clothed form visible against the backdrop of the dunes. R2 whistled at him from the doorway of Ben Kenobi's former dwelling.

"You stay here. I'll be fine, and I won't be gone long. I promise," Luke said as he climbed the ladder into the X-wing.

He flew the X-wing low over the sand, rising and falling with the contour of the land. Four years ago he had made a similar journey in his old X-34 landspeeder, that journey perhaps the exact moment when his life turned upside down. He wasn't sure what he was looking to find; he only knew that he couldn't come this close and not return to the home of his childhood.

Even using only the X-wing's repulsorlift engines, the familiar landmarks of the Lars homestead were already starting to appear in the landscape. The vaporator towers that would have been his first signposts were gone, probably taken within a few weeks of the tragedy, once the Jawas and other scavengers had noticed that the homestead was no longer guarded. The outline of the mountains was his guide now, the shape of the natural features imprinted forever into his memory.

As the past resurrected itself in front of his eyes, he examined the feelings he held submerged. They stayed obediently beneath the surface, none of them poised to burst through the way they did in his youth. Sadness lay there, regret for not being able to save Owen and Beru, but nothing that would threaten his mental control. He was a Jedi now, and he followed the will of the Force, not his own feelings.

Even when the entrance to the homestead popped into view, and his heart fluttered a moment and he had to swallow hard, his mind was impassive, a testament to the completeness of his training.

He brought the X-wing in close to the home, and set the ship down in the sand. Four years was not forever, but in the wilds of Tatooine it might as well have been. Peering down the open well into the heart of the dwelling he could see more evidence of looting, as well as the sand drifts that had accumulated in the interior. He headed down the steps of the entrance tunnel, his legs still possessing the physical memory of the spacing, allowing him to fly down them like he had as a child.

The suns had risen high enough to displace the colors of dawn from the sky, leaving only electric blue as he gazed upwards from the interior core. He'd been on many planets now, but none of them had a sky that could match the beauty of Tatooine. He ran his fingers along the wall as he headed down into the garage, his former place of refuge. The garage had almost been gutted, the machinery doubtless the first to be taken by scavengers. The bare frame of his beloved skyhopper lay like a picked over carcass in the back room.

His old bedroom was in a similar state, anything of value long ago removed. A clatter came from within the closet, and his lightsaber was in his hand without conscious thought. A sandrat scurried from its hiding place, and he hooked the saber back on his belt. His lightsaber, built using instructions he had found in Ben's home. He liked his new saber; it felt clean, pure, devoid of any unwanted history.

He looked around the room, and felt satisfied. He'd come to a place packed with nostalgia, and yet he didn't feel moved. The past was the past. His emotions were for information only. He was a Jedi.

As he walked out of the room his boot scuffed something on the floor, and he glanced down at it. It was the old shifter knob from Owen's swoop bike, the one he'd found in the garage, the one he'd saved because somehow old feelings were stored within it. When he'd held it before, strange images had appeared, and overwhelming emotions beyond his experience had filled his mind. The feelings became so intense that he had to let go of it, but he could never bring himself to throw it away, either.

He picked it up in his black gloved hand and felt nothing. Hmmm. Perhaps it had all been due to the overactive imagination of a teenager.Then he remembered his right hand was not truly his, and he transferred the shifter to his ungloved left hand. The old feeling of warmth radiated to his fingers, and he closed his eyes to accept what he now knew to be Force driven sensations. He saw the repeating loop of images, felt the emotions ramp upwards in a crescendo of heartbreak.

With his new control the feelings were no longer overwhelming, and he was able to let the scene play over and over. There was a familiar heat to the emotions, a characteristic fire in which love and fear and hope and desperation burned so tightly together as to be one indivisible flame. It felt just like the blistering outpouring he had received from Vader's mind. Just like it.

His mind buzzed with the implications born of his dawning realization. Somehow his father had been here, in the Lars homestead, had held this very object in his own hand. The arm he saw in the vision, the one not covered in black leather, but extending from a brown Jedi robe, might belong to his father. The beautiful girl in the vision, the one to whom overpowering love flowed, might even be his mother. They would have been at the Lars homestead because Owen was his brother, because they were family.

He was neither a manufactured creation like a cloned trooper nor a product of darkness. He was not unloved, unwanted, or abandoned.He was not evil because evil loved him, but rather that which loved him was not evil

His heart soared free, gifted with a peace that Jedi detachment had not been able to give him.The same person that had stood in the Lars garage still lived, hidden behind black armor. Something had gone terribly wrong in his family, that much was clear, but his family had once been like any other.

He felt like he was ten years old again as he ran up the stairs of the homestead, and out to the X-wing so that he could transmit a message to Leia. He was ready to come back.

------

A year had gone by. A year without word or thought or contact of any sort from his son. It seemed obvious that the boy wanted nothing to do with him. But Palpatine, who was so seldom wrong about the future, saw it otherwise.

_In time, he will seek you out._

He wasn't sure he wanted that to happen. Not here, not now, with the Imperial Fleet clustered together around the second Death Star, and Palpatine thoroughly prepared for Luke's arrival. Even in the days when his dream of overthrowing his Master still lived, he would have never made the attempt under these circumstances.

_And when he does, you must bring him before me._

That would be the ultimate perversion of his dream, to hand over Luke to Palpatine.The only alternative, since Luke would not stand with him, was to kill the boy. He'd vowed to do that long ago, to save Luke from a life of misery as Palpatine's servant, but that was before Bespin. To remove the light from those eyes that housed such an indomitable spirit , he didn't know that he was man enough to do it, even if serving Palpatine was its own slow death. He hoped that the Emperor was wrong, that Luke would never try to find him.

_Everything is proceeding as I have forseen._

To hope that Palpatine could not see the future was to hope that no sun would ever rise again. His own visions of the future were oddly blank on the matter of Luke. The Force always left him blind to his own future, as it had about Mustafar, and about his failure to assassinate Palpatine. If he could not see Luke's future, it could only be because it was too tightly bound with his own.

_Whatever happens, Luke, I will protect you, always._

------

He was leaving Dagobah again, but things were almost opposite from the last time. A year ago, he'd been leaving for Bespin, determined to save Han and Leia. Now he was on his way to Sullust to regroup with the Alliance, Han's rescue already accomplished, though it had taken two attempts to get it done. A year ago, he'd been only part way through his training, flush with talent and ability, but lacking control. Now by Yoda's own admission, he was fully trained, a Jedi, except for one last trial. It was in the nature of this trial that the greatest difference existed between then and now.

Then, Ben and Yoda had pleaded with him not to go, not to face Vader. This time they were urging him to confront Vader, Yoda invoking destiny, and Ben calling on him as their only hope. A year ago he would have fulfilled their wishes without hesitation, been grateful for their support as he embarked on his own mission of vengeance.

But that was before he had caught sight of the exquisitely beautiful flower that was the truth. It had almost been suffocated by the crop of lies that grew around it, but somehow it found a way to push through, and each new petal that opened made it more dazzling. Vader, his father. Leia, his sister.The war hero Anakin Skywalker and Vader, one and the same. Himself and Leia, so gifted with the Force that they had to be hidden from the Emperor. It mesmerized him as he waited for it to open fully and reveal all its splendor.

It had struggled so hard to survive that he could not crush it beneath his boot, not even for Obi-Wan.

------

In the midst of the monotony of the day, amongst the tedium of having nothing to do but wait for the Emperor's next command, he touched an unexpected presence aboard an ordinary _lambda_ shuttle that was approaching _Executor._

"Where is that shuttle going ?" he asked Piett.

"Shuttle _Tydirium_, what is your cargo and destination ?" Piett said into the com.

"Parts and technical group for the forest moon," came the reply over the com.

"Do they have a code clearance ?" he asked.

"It's an older code, sir, but it checks out," Piett said. "I was about to clear them."

_What are you doing here, Luke ? Have you come as my son, or as a Rebel ?_

"Shall I hold them ?" Piett prodded gently.

"No. Leave them to me. I will deal with them myself."

_You have walked into a very dangerous place, Luke. Three is not a stable number among the Sith._

------

It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, to volunteer for the mission to infiltrate the Imperial line. To do so would both reunite the old team, and show the Alliance that he was still committed to the cause, even if he did have a tendency to disappear in his X-wing at odd times.

It seemed like a good idea right up until the moment his mind touched that now familiar presence. It felt neutral, maybe even bored, its languor not enough to hide the glow of the fire that crackled just beneath the surface.

He didn't know why he didn't think of it before, afterall, Vader had been on the first Death Star; it was logical that a man of his position in the Empire would also be involved in the second. And while he knew what his father felt for him, he didn't think that feeling extended to the other Rebels on board the stolen shuttle.

He tried to keep himself very still and contained, hoping that he could evade detection. But light fingers brushed over his mind, and then the presence snapped to full alertness.

"I'm endangering the mission," he said."I shouldn't have come."

"It's your imagination, kid," Han said."Let's keep a little optimism."

But it wasn't his imagination, and now the presence was looking at him dead on, calm, quiet, waiting.

_If you want to catch me, Father, here's your chance._

But no tractor beam engaged the shuttle, and the voice on the other end of the com gave the clearance for the _Tydirium_ to land on Endor. He wasn't sure why they had been let through, but the presence still felt open, honest, without a trace of guile to indicate it had set a trap. The shuttle passed over _Executor_, and though it sent no message, the presence never turned from him.

_We will meet again soon, Father. This time I'm ready to talk._


	19. The Will of the Force

**Chapter 19 The Will of the Force**

_Trust in the Force, trust in the Force, trust in the Force..._

He'd run every scenario through his mind trying to find a solution, and he could think of none. Except for this one. This time he would not fight the will of the Force, he would follow it. Whatever it was.

Since the moment that he had detected Luke on board that seemingly ordinary shuttle, he'd been trying to figure out what to do about his son. He'd let the ship go on its way to give himself time to think, but he needed to do something soon, or doubtless the Rebels' actions would make their presence known to Palpatine, if not to the entire fleet.

There was no time to train Luke, assuming Luke was any more receptive to the idea of them working together than he was at Bespin. No time to formulate a plan _if _he were trained. No way to disperse the enormous amount of Imperial firepower that was gathered around Endor. It seemed impossible to escape the Emperor's vision that Luke would be brought before him.

He swallowed hard as he rode the elevator up to the top of the spire that served as the Emperor's throne room on board the second Death Star. He kept his eyes closed, trying to gather strength, until he heard the elevator doors swoosh open at the top level.

He'd anticipated that Palpatine would not be pleased with his disobedience, and he was not disappointed.The Emperor punctuated his annoyance by refusing to relinquish his attention from the depths of space. "I told you to remain on the command ship," he said peevishly.

_Must you be such a bastard ? _"A small Rebel force has penetrated the shield and landed on Endor."

"Yes, I know," the Emperor said, finally swiveling in the throne to face him.

"My son is with them," he said, not bothering to disguise their relation as Palpatine did.

"Are you sure ?"

_Are you not ? _"I have felt him, my master."

"Strange that I have not," the Emperor said. He leaned forward in the throne, his yellow eyes fixating on him, as if by the intensity of his gaze he could pierce both the impassiveness of his mask, and of his mental cloak. "I wonder if your feelings on this matter are clear, Lord Vader."

"They are clear, my master." _As clear as the lake next to which I was married. But as for yours, do you think I have forgotten Dooku ?_

"Then you must go to the Sanctuary moon and wait for him."

"He will come to me ?" he said, wishing that he could see Luke's future as clearly.

"I have forseen it. His compassion for you will be his undoing," Palpatine said. "He will come to you, and then you will bring him before me."

"As you wish," he said.

_There, it is begun.Do not take it as betrayal, my son.There is only one thing left for us, and that is to trust in the Force. I keep telling myself that as I prepare to do the one thing that seems most wrong in my heart : to bring you to my master._

------

Who knew ? Who knew that Threepio could be such a good storyteller ? His impressions were spot on, and he was certainly keeping everyone else entertained, especially the Ewoks. Luke tried to let his mind be carried away with the droid's tale, to lose himself in the evening's festivities, but it wasn't working.

His mind kept returning to the moment when the _Tydirium _passed over the Super Star Destroyer. There was no military strategy to explain why they had not been captured. If the positions had been reversed and the Empire had infiltrated the Alliance Fleet, there would have been no hesitation in seizing the ship. If Vader knowingly let them go, could it be because his loyalty to his son was greater than his loyalty to the Empire ?

The possibility astonished him , and made him wonder who truly lay behind the mask.What was his father really like, since he appeared to be cast of solid durasteel, yet inside, lived feelings of such intensity that they would melt an ordinary being ? Was the hero of the old Republic trapped behind the facade of enforcer of the Empire ? Would he really jeopardize the Empire to protect his son ?

His father could have killed him at Bespin, but he did not. He could have captured the _Tydirium_, but he did not.There was a thrill that came of falling under the protection of Vader, almost as if a pack of wild beasts had lay down at his feet, and he felt emboldened by his privileged status. Maybe there was still a way for them to work together as father and son, to achieve the mutual goal of unseating the Emperor.Rather than descending into the Dark Side, he would extend his hand to his father, and pull him back from the depths.

The room erupted in celebration after Threepio concluded his story, and the Ewoks welcomed the Rebels into the tribe. Undiminished by the noise and commotion,a ripple in the Force made its way to him. His father was in the skies above Endor.If he stayed here, his father would track him to this location, and his friends would be put at risk.

He slipped out of the Ewok hut without saying a word, instead sending a suggestion with his mind. _Leia, come talk to me._

------

He'd disappointed this boy. This boy who had been waiting for him on Endor, just as Palpatine had predicted. Except that waiting was too passive a word, because Luke had purposefully come after him, having turned himself in to the Imperial squad guarding the shield generator.

This boy, who should no longer be called that, because in the year since Bespin he'd rebuilt himself, somehow resurrecting the cool confidence of the Jedi Order, despite having never seen it in action. This boy, who had become comfortable with the truth of their relationship, no longer shrinking from contact, but instead seeking it out. This boy who'd left the safety of his Rebel compatriots, who trusted that his father would not deliver him to the Emperor, he'd disappointed this boy.It poured from Luke's mind, dripped in his voice, as he gave his indictment.

"Then my father is truly dead."

_Luke, you are the harshest of all my masters._ _You think like Obi-Wan did, in black and white, of good and evil. It's not that simple. The Dark Side is not evil, only what a man does with it. The power it can give is unattainable by other means. You will need it if you are to defeat Palpatine, if only I could make you see that._

_You thought that you could throw my name before me, and I would wake up as if from a dream ? What would we do if I did come with you ? Leave the Galaxy in Palpatine's grip ? Let him blow this moon to bits of rubble, and you and me with it ? I cannot stop your destiny Luke, much as I could not stop your mother's, or my own, though I almost wrecked the Galaxy trying. The Emperor has forseen that you can destroy him, and to keep you from that role would be my greatest crime. My time has come and gone, and all that remains for me is to help you to achieve your destiny._

------

He thought his father was Darth Vader. Or Anakin Skywalker. But not this resigned man who acted as if he were powerless to change anything.What happened to the mind of scorching intensity who used the Force with such casual ease ? The massive being who loomed over him at Cloud City, who appeared to command unlimited power ? The symbol of Imperial might who plotted the Emperor's demise ?

No, his father had been replaced by someone who made excuses for his obedience to his master, who had given up any hope for himself. A defeated man who could walk away from his son's offer for them to work together. A being who could ignore his own dreams to submit to another's vision. He would have never left the Rebel camp if he had known that his father was this strongly controlled by the Emperor.

He stood in the elevator between the two stormtroopers, waiting for his father to refute his condemnation, but Vader turned away, seemingly unable to answer.The doors shushed closed, and the elevator rose to the level of the landing platform. The stormtroopers pushed him forward and guided him up the ramp of a _lambda_ shuttle. Inside the passenger compartment the troopers indicated a seat to him, while they remained standing, blasters in hand.

The three of them waited in silence for several minutes before Vader's ventilator announced his approach. Once inside the shuttle, his father had no words for him, no thoughts, no last minute download of emotions to explain. Vader turned at the head of the ramp to enter the cockpit, while the stormtroopers took seats opposing his, and the shuttle rose off of the platform.

------

The silence that began on Endor continued without interruption.It stayed with them as the shuttle made its way to the Death Star, remained unabated as they left the hangar and walked into the battlestation interior. They were striding side by side through the corridors, almost a duplication of the vision his father had sent to him after Bespin, but it felt entirely different. His father's dream had been filled with pride, with a connection between them, while this felt cold and empty.

On Endor, he had detected none of the emotional honesty that had characterized their last interaction. Instead, only traces of his father's feelings leaked out as they talked beneath the landing platform, only enough for him to feel his father's reluctance to take him to the Emperor, and mostly, his father's sense of resignation. Now as they walked together, he could feel nothing at all emanating from his father. It was not so much a state of tranquility but a complete absence of feeling, as if his father's mind was covered by an organic blast door.

They entered another elevator, this one rising some distance before opening out onto an enormous chamber ringed with windows of equally large proportion. A broad staircase lay before them. Just as they had walked through the Death Star, they climbed the staircase together, side by side.

The great military throne that lay beyond the summit of the stairs faced outward into space. It slowly rotated towards them, and he found himself looking into the face of the Emperor. The figure looked impossibly old, slumped so far back in the throne as to almost become one with it. Hardly the picture of supreme power. He realized that no Alliance member had ever come this close to the Emperor. Perhaps his father's actions could be seen not as betrayal, but as opportunity. If not to kill the Emperor, then to keep him preoccupied and unaware of the advancing Alliance fleet.

"Welcome, young Skywalker," the Emperor said. "I've been expecting you."

"You no longer need those," he continued, make a slight motion.

The binders fell from his wrists, and he looked up from his hands in comprehension.Though the Alliance commanders never discussed the ability, the Emperor was obviously a Force user. It all made sense now : the Emperor's great skill in predicting the future, his father's fall to the Dark Side, his father's failure to overcome his master. He realized that the Emperor's presence felt exactly the same as his father's : an absolute blankness that gave the impression of mental armor.It was from this person his father had sealed off his mind, not himself.

------

It was an act so practiced that it was almost accomplished by rote. Unfortunately the staleness of the performance did not hinder its effectiveness. Palpatine was slowly circling another victim, poking, prodding, looking for weaknesses. It was always a painful thing to watch, since he knew what it was like to be stalked by Palpatine, but it was especially painful now because the victim was Luke.

It didn't take much for Palpatine to discover Luke's vulnerable spot : his friends and compatriots among the Rebel troops. What the boy didn't reveal in his own words, he gave up in his expression and from his unguarded mind. A hole in his training, the boy obviously had not been taught to protect himself from Force sensitive opponents, and could not understand the strength of the one he faced now.

Not that the boy hadn't fought well, his inner resolve to follow the Jedi path apparent from the beginning. At first Luke had proven a worthy opponent to Palpatine's verbal jabs, enough that he had to suppress a chuckle when Luke zeroed in on Palpatine's over developed sense of confidence. But soon the Emperor had turned the battle, and Luke's resolve had gone the way of Alderaan.

He could feel Luke's turmoil now, the boy equally determined to resist the Dark Side, and protect his fellow Rebels.Now that Luke knew how firmly Palpatine controlled the situation, he was weighing the alternatives, torn between whom he would sacrifice . His friends. The Rebel Alliance. Himself. The turmoil ceased as the boy made a decision.

He sensed Luke's intention to summon his lightsaber, just as Palpatine must.

_No, Luke ! It's the oldest trick he has. He's never defenseless.Try it and he will kill you on the spot._

------

His lightsaber was not moving effortlessly through the Emperor's body, but instead was held at bay by the unyielding glow of another lightsaber. His father's lightsaber.It was his father who had first spoken to him of his destiny ,about being powerful enough to destroy the Emperor.It was his father who had tried to convince him that if he used that power they could save the Galaxy from the ravages of war. Now that he'd finally decided to make that future come to pass, it was his father who was stopping him.

_You LIED to me ! So it's possible to lie through the Force just as it is with words. What were all those feelings you sent to me ? All lies ? You don't love me, you don't want us to defeat the Emperor. I left my friends to come save you. I should be with them now, helping them now, not trying to save you from a master that still holds your loyalty._

He disengaged his saber, changed targets, and took aim at his father.He landed blow after blow, working from a position of offense, driving Vader back. The Force was not flowing through him, it was filling him, so much so that it threatened to burst through his skin. By the time he thought of his next move, he found he had already made it. Vader was struggling to counter his attack, and he was able to manuever his father backwards to the head of the long staircase. He saw an opening and planted a kick firmly in his father's thigh.Vader tumbled to the bottom of the stairs, where he had to gather himself before he was able to stand.

He was pleased with himself, pleased until he heard the laughter that signaled the Emperor's pleasure, as well.

"Good," the Emperor said. "Use you aggressive feelings, boy. Let the hate flow through you."

He done exactly that. Used all the feelings he'd been warned about : anger, hate, aggression, and with them had come the power of the Dark Side. It didn't feel different at all, except for the incredible intensity. Before, he thought that turning to the Dark Side would be like jumping off a cliff, but instead it was easy, seamless, leaving him unable to pinpoint the exact moment when he slipped over.

He turned off his lightsaber. He would not fall to the temptation of the Dark Side.

His father had regained his feet. Even through the mechanism of the voice modulator, he could hear the praise in his father's voice, a feeling that went beyond the words.

"Obi-Wan has taught you well, " Vader said.

Sadness flooded him. He didn't want a replay of Bespin, he wanted them to act as father and son, to be able to enjoy his father's approval. He had come here to save him, not destroy him.

"I will not fight you, Father," he said, as close to tears as he ever came.

------

_If only you had said that at Cloud City, Luke.That is not possible here,not with Palpatine among us, because as soon as there is a victor between us, the loser will die.It's me or you or him, and I don't know how to make it be him unless you will use the Dark Side._

He climbed the staircase back up to Luke. The boy moved back to maintain distance, but made no move to resume their combat.

"You are unwise to lower your defenses," he said, swinging his lightsaber at Luke.

Luke reignited his lightsaber in time to meet the blow, but unlike their earlier exchange, he maintained a strictly defensive posture.The boy skillfully parried all his advances, finally removing himself from the battle by using the Force to somersault himself to an upper level walkway.

He admired his son's confidence, and how his skills had increased so much since Bespin. Luke was no longer an out-classed, though courageous, boy, but a fine warrior in his own right. And he'd accomplished it all with what must have been the scarcest of education. How powerful would the boy be if he had received the proper training ?

"Your thoughts betray you, Father," Luke said from the overhead walkway. "I sense the good in you, the conflict."

"There is no conflict," he said. _My loyalties have always been with you, even if you cannot see that. But that does not mean that I can let you abandon your destiny._

"You couldn't bring yourself to kill me before, and I don't believe you will destroy me now," Luke said.

_You're probably right. Which means you must do your part._ "You underestimate the power of the Dark Side. If you will not fight, then you will meet your destiny," he said, as he flung his locked lightsaber into the supports of the walkway.

As the walkway crashed down, Luke slid with it, ending up two levels below where he had started.

He descended the tall staircase in search of his son. The area under the main platform was dim, and his helmet automatically turned up the gain on his visual display, but it was not enough to reveal Luke's location.

"You cannot hide forever, Luke," he said.

"I will not fight you," came Luke's voice from within the darkness.

He felt the pressure of Palpatine's presence lurking directly above them. If Luke remained passive, it was all over for him.He needed to provoke him, but Luke had renouced his anger, had never seemed motivated by power. The only thing that seemed to hold sway over the boy was his connection to his friends. Of course. This boy was like himself; he would not turn for hate, or for power, but he would turn for love.

"Give yourself to the Dark Side," he said."It is the only way to save your friends."

His prodding was rewarded by an immediate flash of feeling from Luke.Indeed, this was the way to reach the boy.

"Yes, your thoughts betray you. Your feelings for them are strong, especially for..." his voice trailed off as he comprehended the enormity of what Luke was revealing to him.This long concealed girl was Luke's cornerstone ; just as he had turned to save Padme', Luke would turn to save his sister. He put aside his own feelings to increase the pressure on Luke.

"Sister... so, you have a twin sister. Your feelings have now betrayed her, too. Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me. His failure is now complete. If you will not turn to the Dark Side, then perhaps she will."

His breath caught as he heard Luke spring up from the darkness with a roar, his lightsaber blazing. The boy's strength and fury surprised him, and he struggled to keep Luke's saber from reaching him. He suddenly knew what Dooku must have felt all those years ago on board the _Invisible Hand. _His mouth went dry, and fear began to spread its metallic taste. Despite all his skill and experience, the boy was going to beat him.

He was no Palpatine. He had learned from his master how to incite the storm, but he did not have his master's skill at controlling the aftermath. He could not drive Luke off, leaving nowhere to go but back. And backwards he went, while the unstoppable weapon that was his son continued to batter him.

They moved onto a narrow bridge crossing the depths of the elevator shaft. He lost his footing, and slipped to the floor. All that he could see was the glow of Luke's lightsaber coming so fast that he could not meet it. His armor worked as it was designed, but bit by bit the lightsaber ate through the suit, until once again he felt the pain of losing a limb. His lightsaber fell with his severed prosthesis into the chasm.

_The Dark Side has made you strong enough to defeat me. Now let it make you strong enough to defeat him,and you will fulfill your destiny, Luke._

He waited for the killing blow to strike, but it did not come.Where he had been unable to stop Luke's attack, the sound of Palpatine's gleeful laughter appeared to have done so. Above him, he saw Luke blink himself back into the present, a measure of rationality returning to his face.

"Good," Palpatine said as he approached them. "Your hate has made you powerful. Now fulfill your destiny and take your father's place at my side."

He wondered what Luke was thinking as he felt his son's anger fade. The boy needed that fury to take on Palpatine; without it he would not succeed against the Emperor.

His heart jumped as he watched Luke throw it all away. His lightsaber. The power that had come with the Dark Side. His destiny.He had never been so afraid for his son as he was now.

------

He had never felt more powerful. His rage had allowed the Force to electrify him so that he felt like he was not following his own mind, but the will of the Force itself. He had brought the seemingly unconquerable Darth Vader to his knees, nevermind that Vader was his father. And therein lay the problem; that power had led him, no, _carried_ him to a place he never wanted to go. He wasn't even sure he could remember everything he had just done.

The worst part was, he had gone down that path because of Leia. Because he loved her, because he wanted to protect her, he had forgotten everything else that he stood for,had almost let his anger consume him, had almost killed the father that he'd come to save.

He looked down at the prone black figure below him with new eyes. _Is this how you fell ?_

He looked at his gloved prosthetic hand, and then to the wiring protruding from Vader's stump. He almost felt nauseous.It wasn't as impossible for his face to end up inside that helmet as he had always thought. His lightsaber felt like it was burning a hole in his hand.

"Never," he said, as he tossed the saber aside."I'll never turn to the Dark Side. You've failed, your Highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

The Emperor looked more than displeased at his pronouncement.The Emperor looked furious, like a man who was not in the least accustomed to failure.

"So be it, Jedi," the Emperor said, making _Jedi_ sound like the foulest expletive in the Galaxy.

The last thing he remembered was the Emperor threatening him, and then wondering how this ancient, dried-up slip of a man was going to make good on that threat.

The next thing he knew he had been knocked off his feet and he was grasping a metal cylinder, grasping because all his muscles were contracting in unbelievable agony as some sort of energy field enveloped him. He was unable to let go, unable to move, unable to stop it.

The energy field relented, and he felt like he could breathe again.

"Young fool," the Emperor said,"only now, at the end, do you understand."

A new blast of energy struck him, and this time he could see that it was generated from the Emperor's own hands. No one had ever mentioned that it was possible to use the Force in this way. As he writhed in pain, Yoda's words came to him. _Do not underestimate the powers of the Emperor, or suffer your father's fate you will._ He hadn't understood that Yoda meant power like this.

The energy field relaxed again, and he knew he should get up, should try to get to his lightsaber, but his limbs wouldn't answer.

"Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the Dark Side," the Emperor said, punctuating his words with another round of energy bolts."You will pay a price for your lack of vision."

The Emperor was standing over him now, and had increased the intensity of the energy assaulting his body. He could barely think anymore, could barely keep himself conscious. Though his mind was in a haze, he suddenly realized that he might not be able to escape, that this might kill him.

------

He didn't know how to stop it, his master's torture of his son. He was weaponless, trapped in a crippled body that could neither generate nor repel Force lightning. All his life he had nursed deep regret for not being there in time to save his mother, to save Padme'. Now his son was dying before his eyes, and he could still do nothing.

"Father, please," Luke called out from within the grip of the Force lightning.

How could he stop Palpatine ? His master was the stronger, that had already been proven. The Force lightning would disrupt the life controls of the suit, and he would be killed, and still not save Luke. He couldn't see what to do.

A voice came to him, a voice that should have only been in his memory, but it seemed louder as if it were here now.

_You must let go of everything you fear to lose._

He couldn't do it then, but he would do it now. He let go of his dream that he and Luke would rule the Galaxy together. He let go of his dream that Luke would destroy Palpatine.He let go of his dream of himself. Nothing mattered after that, not the Empire, not the Rebel Alliance, not the Jedi, not the Sith . The only truth that remained was that he must save Luke.

As he picked up his old master and lifted him over his head, he marveled at how light he felt. Just as he knew it would, the Force lightning infiltrated his suit.He felt his heart become erratic, and the suit's air flow diminish. The lightning ravaged his body, and he felt it burn him, not like the molten lava of Mustafar, but from within, so that he wondered if his bones were glowing as Mace Windu's had.He felt dizzy and weak, but he willed himself to keep going, until he hefted Palpatine's body into the depths of the elevator shaft.

He collapsed on the railing, his body failing as the life support suit malfunctioned. He felt someone moving him away from the edge, laying him back, and suddenly it was easier to breathe. Luke, it was Luke. He felt of his son's mind, felt how worried Luke was about him. He smiled. If Luke was worried about him, then he must not hate him, must have forgiven him. Now he was complete, now he could let go all the way.

As he drifted off the voice was in his head again, and this time it was shouting.

_Anakin !_

His eyes fluttered open.

_Anakin ! Listen to me, you must. Short, time is._

He summoned his remaining strength, and focused his mind on the instructions of another old master.

------

His muscles had relaxed and he found he could move again. Through the pain and fog of the energy field he had seen his father pick up the Emperor and throw him over the railing. His father had saved him.

_I'm sorry I doubted you, Father._

He could hear the wheeze of his father's ventilator, and while he didn't know how it worked, he knew it didn't sound right. He scrambled to his father's side, realized his body felt limp. He leaned his father's head back, and the respiratory sound became less labored. He looked at all the electronic controls on the suit, and realized he knew nothing about them, didn't even know exactly what his father's injuries had been.

He felt of his father's mind, looking for that characteristic fire, and found it cold. His father was dying. Not now, not after everything that had kept them apart, not now, when they could finally be father and son.

He would take his father to the Alliance medics. They would know what to do, how to save him. This was Anakin Skywalker, the hero of the old Republic, his father. They had to save him.


	20. The Gift

**Chapter 20 The Gift**

This was the third time someone important to him had vanished before his eyes, but he still was not accustomed to the sight.Even if his head knew that it was the way of all things, of the Force, that it was a natural part of life, it didn't make it any easier for his heart. Especially not when this last person to fade away in front of him was his father.

He wanted so much to talk to his father, to know who he had really been, to learn the answers to the questions he had carried his entire life.It all just seemed so unfair, to have come this far, to have finally seen that the mind that connected with him through the Force did belong to a man, just a man, hidden underneath the black armor. A man he would have to explain to his sister, but he wasn't sure that he could, because he didn't know him well enough himself. Why would she ever believe him,anyways, if he had only this empty armor shell to show her ?

_Luke, take my shuttle._

He closed his eyes as the unmodifed voice of his father echoed in his head. At least they would still be able to communicate through the Force, like he had with Ben.

_Luke, hurry._

He nodded in acknowledgement. The hangar that had been boiling with activity, the feeling of panic coming from the hundreds of minds in it so strong he just had to shut them all out, was now almost empty. Not a good sign.If the Alliance mission had gone as planned, this battle station should be about to blow.

He pulled the armored suit up the ramp of the shuttle, easier now because it was empty, but heavy enough for him to realize the burden it must have been to wear. He laid the suit across a row of seats in the passenger compartment, setting the helmet gently atop it. He strapped himself into the pilot's seat and lifted the shuttle off the deck.

_Careful, these get a little twitchy while the wings are unfolding._

He smiled at the advice. He throttled back for a moment, until the console display confirmed that the wings were locked in flight position, then accelerated to move free of the Death Star hangar. When he was certain he had flown far enough to escape the impending shockwave, he brought the shuttle about to bring the Death Star into view.

Motion in his peripheral vision caught his attention, and his head whipped to the right.The shimmering brown Jedi robe in the copilot's seat was familiar, but the long haired young man in it wasn't.

"Who are you ?" he exclaimed.

"I thought we established that Luke. I'm your father," the golden haired stranger said.

"But why do you look my age ?" he said, squinting to match the features he had only seen before on a middle-aged face.

"I was exactly your age when I was...injured. I carried those wounds your entire lifetime, Luke. Would you condemn me to suffer them through all eternity ?" Anakin said, with an edge in his voice sharper than a vibroblade.

He recognized the familiar heat of his father's mind, saw that there was an expression that with it. "No, of course not. It's just a little... startling to see you like this."

Anakin nodded, then turned away from him."Look, there it goes."

He turned back to the viewscreen. The Death Star loomed as large as ever. "Look at what ?"

The words were barely out of his mouth when the viewscreen went brilliant with light, and he had to avert his eyes. "How did you know ?"

"Do you not see the future ?" Anakin asked.

"Sometimes, in visions," he said.He meant to ask his father what he saw of the future, but a wave of nausea rushed over him and a crushing pain came to his head.When he looked over, he saw that his father had his hands over his face."Is this from the Force ?"

"They weren't all able to evacuate," Anakin said softly. "Many men just died in that explosion. This is what the Force felt like after the destruction of Alderaan, and of the first Death Star . Don't you remember ?"

"I...I didn't feel it then," he said."My training had just begun when I flew in the Battle of Yavin."

"You had no training until then ?" Anakin said."What was Obi-Wan thinking ? He was certainly around you when you were young."

"Uncle Owen never liked Ben." The implications of his father's words hit him and he leaned over in his seat. " And how do you know Obi-Wan was there ? Why did you leave me with Uncle Owen ?"

Anakin drew upright in his seat. "_I_ did not take you there. Perhaps you should ask your friend Obi-Wan how you ended up with Owen."

He saw the expression on his father's face had grown hard. "But wasn't Owen your brother ?"

"My step-brother. His father bought my mother, then freed her and married her. I never spent much time with Owen, though I thought he seemed a good man."

"_Bought_ your mother ? My grandmother ?" Luke asked incredulously.

"We were slaves, Luke. I was, too, before the Jedi took me," Anakin said."Somebody told you my name, did they not tell you anything else about me ?"

"No.Owen told me you were a navigator, and you know what Ben told me. After I knew you had been a Jedi, I tried to research them, but records on the Jedi are hard to find. Mostly I got information from Alliance members who were old enough to remember the Clone Wars. That's when I first heard the name Anakin Skywalker."

A slight smile softened his father's expression. His face was still that of a young man, but his eyes looked as if he felt even older than the Emperor.

"It must have been difficult for you, Luke," he said after a long silence."I have something for you.You'll have to come with me to Coruscant to see it."

"Coruscant ? I'm not going to Coruscant. I've got to get to the rendezvous point. I'm in for it as it is."

His father pressed his shimmering hand against the forward control lever, making the air crackle around it, but the lever did not move."I cannot affect the physical universe anymore, Luke. I need your help."

He rolled his eyes."But Coruscant is so far away. I've got duties here I have to fulfill."

His father was insistent."That's your commander talking. I installed a point four hyperdrive in this thing. We can be to Coruscant inside of two standard hours."

"But everyone will be worried about me, especially...," his voice trailed off as he saw how intently his father was listening. He swallowed. It couldn't still be considered betrayal, could it ? "Especially my sister."

"Can't you use the Force to communicate with her ?" Anakin asked.

"A little. She was never trained," he said hesitantly.

" Why don't you want to tell me about her ?" Anakin said."I saved your life, Luke. That's not reason enough to trust me ?"

"She doesn't feel the same way about you as I do," he said."She has too many...negative impressions of you."

"Then I have met her ?" his father asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A few times," Luke said.He looked into his father's face, into the blue eyes that were like his own. What had been the point of coming after him, if they were not going to act as family ? "She's Leia, Leia Organa."

Anakin leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. It was several minutes before he turned back to Luke. He nodded before he spoke. "Of course. She's much like your mother.Smart. Tough. A leader. Your mother was a Senator, too, you know."

Luke realized he was now the one intently hanging on every word. "I have a deal for you. I'll go to Coruscant with you if you tell me everything. And I mean everything. No lies. No stories. Everything."

"Done," his father said, hands flying to the navcomputer on the console. "Ahh, I keep forgetting I can't do this anymore. Hit the programmed destination list, Luke. Coruscant is number one. And find a way to let your sister know you're safe."

He activated the navcomputer controls, selecting the destination that the computer called Imperial Center. He slid in a brief thought to Leia as he finished readying the ship for lightspeed.

Through the viewscreen he watched the stars turn to starlines as the _lambda_ shuttle entered hyperspace. He swiveled in the pilot's seat. "Now that the ship's on auto, I'm going to put my feet up in the back. I'm feeling pretty sore."

Anakin nodded. "Force lightning will do that to you. It may take a few days for the pain to go away."

"So that's what it's called. You've been hit with it before ?" he asked, as he flipped up the arm rests and stretched across a row of seats in the passenger compartment.

"Yes, but not as hard as you were.Your lightsaber can deflect it, remember that," Anakin said."The only other time I saw a person take as much as you did, it killed him."

Luke rubbed his hand across his forehead, then swept his open palm down his face. His eyes met his father's. "Did you know it would kill you ?"

His father returned his gaze unblinkingly."Yes."

"Did you know that we'd be sitting here talking afterwards ?"

"No," Anakin said.He turned his hand back and forth in front of his face."I don't really understand this, and I don't how long it will be possible. That's why it is so important for you to come with me now."

"What are we going to see ?" he asked, propping his elbow on the seat to rest his head in his hand.

"Let's not talk about that yet. Get some rest. I'll watch the ship, and wake you when we arrive."

He moved himself so he was lying flat across the seats. When he closed his eyes he realized how tired he really was. He felt the tension start to leave his body, and his muscles thanked him for that. Strange, he was never this relaxed when somebody else was flying.

------

He felt a hand gripping his shoulder, shaking him lightly, as if to rouse him. He struggled for a moment to bring himself out of sleep, to remember where he was. He moved to sit up, but the hand pushed downward, keeping him flat.

_Don't get up, Luke. Just feel. Can you feel it, Coruscant ? Can you tell it's getting closer ?_

He kept his eyes closed and reached out, felt only his father's presence. "No."

_It's there, if you stretch far enough. Let me show you._

He breathed deeply and relaxed his conscious control, let the Force sweep through him and connect his mind to his father's. He felt the hand grasp his forearm, lead him forward. It felt like he stepped off an edge into nothingness, and a cold wind battered him, threatened to carry him away. He flailed for purchase, but the hand increased its grip, steadied him.

_Don't worry. That cold rushing feeling is hyperspace. Feel beyond that. Listen to the murmur, feel the spot of warmth that is life, all the millions of lives on Coruscant, glowing in the Force. Can you feel it now, growing stronger ?_

Eyes still closed, he nodded.

_Almost there, almost time to drop into normal space. You can get up now._

He pulled back from his father's mind, oriented himself in the now. He swung his legs off the seat cushions, pushed himself into a sitting position. He rubbed his eyes. The shimmering image was seated across from him, one arm resting atop the black helmet.

"How do you stand it ?" he said.

"Stand what ?" Anakin asked.

"The Force is so loud inside your head," he said.

Anakin shrugged. "Is it ? It feels the way it has always felt to me."

In the cockpit an alarm sounded from the navcomputer.

"Time for you to take over, Luke. The coordinates are set to put us right in to Imperial City."

He moved into the cockpit and slid into the pilot's seat, flipping the switch on the alarm to off. He eased the shuttle into normal space, and Coruscant appeared in the viewscreen. He monitored the ship as it circled the planet to enter the atmosphere over Imperial City, placing it on manual control once they were safely into the stratosphere.

Two security craft swooped up from a lower altitude to parallel the shuttle, and he turned to see his father's reaction."How am I going to get past them ?"

His father was smiling, not the half smiles he had seen earlier that carried more nostalgia and regret than joy, but a broad smile that lit his face and made his eyes flash with amusement."This is _my_ shuttle, Luke," he said, and pointed to a button at the bottom of the console."Hit that transponder."

He did so, and the security craft peeled away in tandem as a message came across the com."Welcome back to Imperial Center, Lord Vader."

His father leaned towards him."This ship will get you through any Imperial checkpoint , for however long the Empire stands, and news of my demise does not spread. Take the ship down until you can see the skylanes."

He chased away the feeling of guilt that crept up, telling himself he was entitled to use the privilege that came of his father's position.He dropped the shuttle's altitude until he could see the intricate pattern of skylanes clearly below the ship. He hesitated. There were hundreds, no thousands, no maybe hundreds of thousands of craft of all sizes streaming at cross directions alongside the towering buildings of the city.

"You just have to jump in there, Luke. They'll move over for a ship like this," Anakin said.

He watched open speeders dart in and out of the traffic lanes, narrowly avoiding larger craft. "These people are crazy. At least when you fly with the Alliance you can be sure the other guy knows what he's doing."

His father looked askance."They say you're not really a pilot until you can fly on Coruscant."

He flushed at the insult, and hit the repulsors so that the shuttle roared ahead. Abruptly he cut the throttle and extended the drive flaps, letting the shuttle fall into a small opening in the highspeed flyway, and then he slammed the throttle open.

Anakin laughed."Obi-Wan used to hate..."

He looked over at his father, wondered why he had stopped speaking, and saw that his face was down turned and his lips were tight.Then his father turned to him, his expression softened, and he continued speaking, this time slowly."Obi-Wan used to hate it when I did that."

He drew his gaze back to the viewscreen, realized he was flying comfortably in this nose to tail traffic, relying more on the Force than his eyesight. The skylane took him past the shadows of the taller buildings out over a vast plain, a plain formed by the rooftops of lesser buildings. To the left one building distinguished itself, not graceful and slender like the rest, but broad and squat, its bulk rising above the plain. From its summit five spires reached even higher into the sky.

"Take us over there, Luke. Put the ship down anywhere on that main plaza," his father said, pointing at the broad building.

The impression of massiveness only grew stronger the closer they came to the building. He could make out figures carved in the solid stone sides, saw the broken remains of statues, all built on the scale of giants.

"Are we going to use the transponder trick again ?" he said, having grown at ease with the idea.

His father's voice was solemn."There is no need. This building is empty, has been for a long time."

He brought the shuttle to rest on the open expanse of the plaza, and he unbuckled himself from the pilot's seat, headed towards the lowered ramp to exit.

"Luke, wait," Anakin said."There's something in my suit you will need. In the belt."

He went to where the life support suit lay across the seats, and picked up the belt. On the inner surface, behind the electronic controls, he saw a slit in the leather. He slid a finger in, and two silvery keycards popped forward.

"Take them both," Anakin said.

------

They were standing in front of a door that lead into the middle section of the building, the door protected by two mechanisms, a card reader and a much older touchpad. The two keycards in his hand were unmarked, and looked identical.

"Hold one, and tell me what you see," his father said.

He grasped the first one firmly in his left hand." A tall spindly building that stands alone. It looks like Coruscant, though."

"Then it's the other one."

He swapped cards, holding the second one long enough to see an image of the broad building before them. He ran it through the card reader, and a light flashed green, but the door did not open.

"Now on the keypad enter four-two-nine-three-three-six."

He punched the numbers in, saw the old device spring to life. The display read _Skywalker, A._ and the door slid open. He looked over at his father.

His father motioned him in."Go ahead, Luke. Palpatine added the cardlock, but the keypad is the original."

He stepped into a sweeping foyer, and the door slid closed behind him, sealing out the noise of Coruscant. There was a simple elegance to the interior, from the curving staircases to the arched walls to the plush carpet that he could tell had once been a vivid blue.The room spoke of power and credits, but also of beauty and harmony. He had never seen anything like it.

"What is this ?" he asked.

"This is the Jedi Temple, Luke."

"But it's huge !" he said, astonished, thinking of Ben's home, and of Yoda's hut.

"It had to be. If you weren't on a mission, this was home," Anakin said. "This building housed the Jedi Order, the Archives, the Council, the bulk of the Jedi fleet. As a youngling you were raised here, as a Padawan you were schooled here."

He could almost see the hallways filled with figures, the great building teeming with life and activity. He thought of his own training, conducted in a swamp without a shred of technology. It must have been amazing to have trained as a Jedi back then.

He looked to the shimmering image of his father, watched him trace a finger over a long black mark on the wall. "What was it like ?"

"To be a Jedi ?" His father continued looking at the wall for a moment, but then turned to face him."It was a hard life in the Order, very disciplined, very controlled. I always felt that they taught me just enough that I would see the horizon, but then they would throw on blinders, until the next time they decided to show me a little more.

"But to be a Jedi on an assignment, there was no better feeling. Any place you went, you could feel how much the people counted on you, how much faith they had in your abilities, and at the same time you knew that faith was not misplaced. I will tell you that I never felt better about myself than when I was serving the Republic as a Jedi."

He felt the hair on his neck rise as he supressed a shiver, fought back a sense of dread. "So what happened ?"

His father's eyes bored straight into his own.So many emotions played across his father's mind and face he wasn't sure he caught them all. Anger. Despair. Fear. Regret.

"You mean, why did I kill them ? Because your mother was more important to me than the entire Jedi Order. I was told that to save her life I would have to choose between them. I would have done anything, did do everything I thought would save her."

He looked down.That was not the answer he was expecting. It didn't make sense."How could that save her ?"

"Palpatine told me he had the power to save people from dying. He promised to teach me that power if I would become his apprentice. He told me I would only be strong enough with the Dark Side to save her if I killed all the Jedi."

He didn't know what to say. Somehow, Obi-Wan's explanation had been easier to swallow, less complicated. The act was no less horrifying, but the sliver of understanding that came to him made him feel complicit. He turned to the closest staircase and sat down on the lower steps.

His father walked up to him. "I learned too late that it was all a lie, only one of the many Palpatine would tell me during the years I served him.But in the span of a single standard day everything changed, so much so that nothing could be put back. Everything I valued was gone, and by my own hand. It would have been enough to drive a man mad, would have except that I found you."

The shimmering image sat down next to him."You were three before I knew for certain that you had survived, but it was that knowledge that sustained me when I had nothing else.I did try to kill him, my master, but he broke my neck, and after that I knew you were safer where you were.I wanted you to have everything, and I'm sorry I could not give it to you.You deserved more than you got, Luke."

His childhood wishes came to him, his wishes to have known his parents, to have felt a gaze that did not have fear mixed in with love.He lowered his head, embarrassed that hot tears were spilling from his eyes, but his father seemed not to notice them.

"I dreamed of teaching you to make your first lightsaber, of teaching you to fly, but you already know these things.It does not change what I have done, but I hope you will accept this gift," his father said, one arm sweeping across the great room in front of them."It is all I have to give you besides stories of the past."

He looked up, confused, as he struggled to understand. "You're giving me the Jedi Temple ?"

"The knowledge, I'm trying to give you the knowledge. Palpatine raided the Archives, took many of the holochrons, but it was too difficult to move it all. Much of it is still here. I want you to have it."

"What am I supposed to do with it ?" he said.

"I'm not trying to put a burden on you. I know what it's like to carry the expectations of the entire Jedi Order. But if I don't give you access to this knowledge, then it is gone, maybe forever. Whatever amount you carry forward, however small, leaves the Galaxy better than it was. Whatever you are able to do, will be enough."

He sighed, rubbed a hand over his face. He did want to know more, to make the title of Jedi mean something again. His father was right, every bit of knowledge that continued on was better than none. He pulled out the keycards that he had slipped into his pocket.

"If this one goes to the Jedi Temple, what does this other one go to ?"

His father's expression became serious."The second card unlocks Palpatine's private library, at least the part he allowed me to see."

He stood up and flung the card across the carpet."I don't want it."

"It's knowledge, Luke, just knowledge," his father said gently."The Force is not Dark and Light. That division has been created by beings."

"I won't take it. You just told me what you did to gain the power of the Dark Side."

His father's voice remained calm, even. "I did not want the Dark Side, only the power to stop death.It was not that power that was wrong, but what I did to attain it.And if I had truly understood the nature of the Force, had I known that it was not divided into sides as I had been taught, then I would have also known that it was not dark acts that would grant me that power."

He furrowed his brow." But anger, hate, aggression- they do lead to the wrong place."

"And love and attachment as well ?" Anakin said. "The Jedi were not perfect, Luke. I would have been expelled from the Order if they had known that your mother and I were married.I was prepared to leave the Order so that we could live as a family.Even if I had, for you to be trained as a Jedi, you would have been taken from us as an infant. You and your sister would have been raised apart to ensure you were not attached. That is the wrong path, too.

"The Jedi and the Sith have been at war for millennia, and that speaks more of the nature of beings than the nature of the Force.They called me the Chosen One, the one of prophecy, who was supposed to bring balance to the Force. No one could ever agree as to what that meant, but perhaps it means it is wrong to create sides among those that follow the Force.I am giving you both keys because understanding the Force is a gift, and I cannot withhold that which is rightfully yours. You have a good heart, and are as strong a man as any I have known. You will know the right thing to do."

"That makes it sound like everything is resting on my shoulders," he said. He looked around the room and down its seemingly infinite corridors."It would be an enormous task to rebuild what was."

His father nodded sympathetically."Then go down a different path. I will be there to help you, as will Obi-Wan and Yoda, I am sure."

"You would allow Obi-Wan to help me ?" he said, remembering Obi-Wan's death.

His father lowered his head."There is much between he and I that I have not told you yet. He was the one who crippled me. But there was a time when he was a good friend. Even more, a brother."

"He said the same about you," he said encouragingly.

"Then maybe it can be that way again. But his devotion to the Order is unshakable. He will help you without question." His father started down the broad corridor. "Come, let me show you the Archives."

He moved quickly to catch up to his father, and then they were striding side by side again, just like in his father's dream. This time it felt exactly right.

------

They stepped out from the insulated halls of the Jedi Temple into the bright sun and thrumming noise of Coruscant. As the door slid closed behind them, he felt in his pocket for the silver keycards, pulled them out to make sure he had them both.

His father looked down at the pair of cards."If you choose to go to Palpatine's library, you need to bring help. I was not the only of the Emperor's seconds, and the Force users among them will want that knowledge, too.It will be a dangerous place for you."

He shoved the cards back into his pocket. That was a decision for another time.

As they came up the ramp and entered the shuttle, the black armor lying across the passenger seats caught his eye.

"What should I do with the suit ?" he asked.

Anakin paused to look at it."Burn it. Burn it, because that is the Jedi way, and for me, burn it."

Luke continued on towards the cockpit and he felt an arm warm across his back, a hand sitting gently on his shoulder.

"Take us back to Endor, son, so your sister can stop worrying about you. And on the way, I'll tell you all about your mother."


End file.
